society for industrial archeology occasional publications, no. 3, … · 2016. 1. 11. ·...
TRANSCRIPT
SOCIETY ITO) I
INDUSTRIAL ARCHEOLOGY
O C C A S I O N A L P U B L I C A T I O N S N u m b e r T h r e e A p r i l 1 9 7 8
S Y M P O S I U M INDUSTRIAL ARCHEOLOGY
and the HUMAN SCIENCES
M A R T H A S V I N E Y A R D , M A S S A C H U S E T T S
8 - 9 O C T O B E R 1 9 7 7
D i a n n e N e w e l l , E d i t o r
T A B L E 0 F C O N T E N T S
INTRODUCTION
I INDUSTRIAL ARCHEOLOGY AS A SCHOLARLY DISCIPLINE
1 . INDUSTRIAL ARCHEOLOGY: DISCOVERING ABOUT HUMAN BEHAVIOR I N THE PAST. Dlanne Newell .
2 . THE "QUESTIONS" OF INDUSTRIAL ARCHEOLOGY. Vance Packard .
3. ARCHEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE AND THE STUDY OF HISTORICAL INDUSTRY. Theodore 2. Penn.
4 . THREE DIMENSIONS REDUCED TO TWO: USING MEASURED DRAWINGS AS A MEANS TO RECORD I A SITES. L a r r y D. Lankton.
5 . INDIRECT METHODS I N INDUSTRIAL ARCHEOLOGY. J e f f r e y L. Brown.
I1 INDUSTRIAL ARCHEOLOGY AS A CULTURAL RESOURCE
6 . INDUSTRIAL ARCHEOLOGY'S ROLE I N CULTURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT. Brenda B a r r e t t .
7 . INDUSTRIAL ARCHEOLOGY I N ITALY: BIRTH A N D PERSPECTIVES. Paolo Caputo.
8 . INDUSTRIAL ARCHEOLOGY I N ITALY: EXAMPLES OF INDUSTRIAL ARCHEOLOGY I N THE URBAN AREA OF MILAN. O r n e l l a S e l v a f o l t a .
9 . MUSEUM INTERPRETATION OF I A MATERIALS: A CONSIDERATION OF THE REVIEW PROCESS FOR GRANT APPLICATIONS.
Margaret S h a e f f e r .
10. AN ARCHEOLOGICAL A N D SOCIAL EVALUATION OF WHAT MAY BE AMERICA'S FIRST INDUSTRIAL SUBURB. Thomas and Jeanne
S c a t c h a r d .
THE COVER--Illustration from a n a d v e r t i s e m e n t (1913) by Coppley, Noyes, and Randal l , L td . ( "Proper C l o t h e s
f o r Men and Boys"), Hamilton, O n t a r i o .
P u b l i s h e d b y t h e S o c i e t y f o r I n d u s t r i a l A r c h e o l o g y
R o o m 5 0 2 0 N a t i o n a l M u s e u m of H i s t o r y & T e c h n o l o g y S m i t h s o n i a n I n s t i t u t i o n W a s h i n g t o n , D. C. 2 0 5 6 0
R o b e r t M. V o g e l , S e r i e s E d i t o r
I N T R O D U C T I O N
T h i s Symposium r e p r e s e n t s t h e S o c i e t y ' s f i r s t fo rmal a t t e m p t t o
e x p l o r e t h e r e l a t i v e l y n e g l e c t e d a n a l y t i c a l a s p e c t s o f i n d u s t r i a l
a rcheology . It is in tended a s a s t a r t i n g p o i n t f o r c o n t i n u i n g
d i s c u s s i o n on how t h e d i s c i p l i n e might b e t t e r c o n t r i b u t e t o a n
unders tanding o f human behavior i n t h e p a s t .
O r i g i n a l l y prepared f o r Symposium d i s c u s s i o n , t h e papers
publ i shed h e r e r e f l e c t i n vary ing d e g r e e s c r i t i c i s m s and a d v i c e
genera ted d u r i n g i n t e n s i v e s e s s i o n s o v e r two days . Because o f t h e
common forum.and because each p a r t i c i p a n t a d d r e s s e s o n l y a n a s p e c t o f
t h e o v e r a l l problem--the p l a c e o f i n d u s t r i a l a rcheology i n t h e human
sc iences- - the papers should be r e a d more a s a " s u i t e " t h a n a s a
c o l l e c t i o n o f i n d i v i d u a l works. Some r e p e t i t i o n w i l l be n o t e d .
Readers a r e asked t o be p a t i e n t ; t h i s o v e r l a p r e s u l t s from a n
e d i t o r i a l d e c i s i o n t o p r e s e r v e t h e i n t e r n a l l o g i c o f i n d i v i d u a l
e s s a y s .
The opening paper p l a c e s i n d u s t r i a l a rcheology i n a S o c i a l
s c i e n t i f i c t r a d i t i o n . H i s t o r i c a l p roblems, d a t a - f a t h e r i n g t e c h n i q u e s ,
a r t i f a c t a n a l y s i s , and i n t e r p r e t i v e schemes a r e explored i n
p r e s e n t a t i o n s t h a t f o l l o w . The t h r u s t o f t h e Symposium was> t o examine
i n d u s t r i a l a rcheology a s a s c h o l a r l y d i s c i p l i n e . However, t h e range
of concerns r e f l e c t e d i n many o f t h e working papers r e p r e s e n t a second
l e v e l o f d i s c u s s i o n . Recognizing t h a t t h e "da ta" o f i n d u s t r i a l
a rcheology a r e p a r t i c u l a r i l y t h r e a t e n e d wi th l o s s o r d e s t r u c t i o n , a
number o f p a r t i c i p a n t s chose t o d i s c u s s i s s u e s r e l a t e d t o p u b l i c
awareness and government a c t i v i t y connec ted wi th a n i n d u s t r i a l
patrimony. The r o l e o f i n d u s t r i a l a rcheology i n c u l t u r a l r e s o u r c e
mangement and t h e i n t e l l e c t u a l and s o c i a l c o n t e x t of i n d u s t r i a l
a rcheology i n I t a l y a r e put forward i n t h i s s e c t i o n . The e v a l u a t i o n
F i g u r e 1. I n d u s t r i a l r e m a i n s o f f e r t o s c h o l a r s a u n i q u e s e t o f "un- i n t e n t i o n a l " s o u r c e s w i t h w h i c h t o e x p l o r e i m p o r t a n t q u e s t i o n s a b o u t p a s t . In o r d e r t o d o that s u c c e s s f u l l y , i n d u s t r i a l a r c h e o l o g i s t s u l t i - m a t e l y m u s t r e g a r d f a c t o r i e s , m i n e s , a n d t h e l i k e a s w o r k i n g p l a c e s , n o t s i m p l y as a r c h i t e c t u r e a n d e q u i p m e n t . T h i s e x t r a o r d i n a r y d r a w - i n g ( c l 8 0 0 ) of t h e B e d w o r t h M i l l ( w o r s t e d ) , W a r w i c k s h i r e ( T a n n , D e v e l o p m e n t of t h e F a c t o r y , p. 3 8 ) s e r v e s a s a r e m i n d e r of t h e b e - h a v i o r a l b a s e of IA i n v e s t i g a t i o n s .
o f i n d u s t r i a l c o l l e c t i o n s i n museums and o f a " l i v i n g " i n d u s t r i a l
community conc lude t h e d i s c u s s i o n s .
The need t o d i s c u s s such i s s u e s and t h e p a r t i c u l a r commitment
t o t a c k l e i n t e l l e c t u a l problems a s a g r o u p , r a t h e r t h a n i n i s o l a t i o n ,
h a s a s i t s r o o t s t h e Landon P r o j e c t , a n i n t e r d i s c i p l i n a r y h i s t o r i c a l
s t u d y o f Southwes te rn O n t a r i o . Our d i l i g e n t c o l l e a g u e s from Milan ,
O r n e l l a S e l v a f o l t a and Paolo Caputo, c l e a r l y l e f t more behind t h a n
e v e r t h e y took away. Vance Packard , i n a d d i t i o n t o v a l u a b l e
i n t e l l e c t u a l s u p p o r t a t t e n d e d t o t h e f i n a n c e s a n d , w i t h Brenda
B a r r e t t , o u r e x c e l l e n t accomodation. Robert Vogel ' s t i m e and t a l e n t
i n producing t h i s p u b l i c a t i o n a r e g r e a t l y a p p r e c i a t e d . O t h e r s who
c o n t r i b u t e d i n i m p o r t a n t ways i n c l u d e Richard S . Alcorn , Will iam B.
B a s s e t t , Richard M. Candee, Michael W. Robbins, and Edward and Mary
Jane Putsch . To a l l o f you and e s o e c i a l l y t h o s e c o n t r i b u t i n g t o t h i s
reward ing volume, my s i n c e r e thanks:..
Dianne Newel1
London, O n t a r i o
1978
F i g u r e 2. T h e p o t e n t i a l r e w a r d s of s y s t e m a t i c a n a l y s i s of h i s t o r i c a r t i f a c t s a r e i l l u s t r a t e d b y t h i s m a p of M i d d l e V i r g i n i a a n d e n v i r o n s . T h e b l a c k s p o t i n t h e w h i t e area s u r r o u n d e d b y s h a d i n g i s t h a t s u r - v e y e d b y H e n r y G l a s s i e i n h i s f o l k h o u s i n g s t u d y (1975: 15). T h e w h i t e s p a c e i s t h e r e g i o n of w h i c h the s u r v e y e d area is b e i n g p r e - s e n t e d as a s a m p l e . T h e s h a d i n g i n d i c a t e s t h e z o n e t o w h i c h a r c h i - t e c t u r a l a f f i n i t i e s a r e n e x t c l o s e s t . I n s t e a d of t h e m e r e c h r o n i c l i n g of p a r t i c u l a r s i t e s , o r " i n s i g h t s " a b o u t the p a s t , G l a s s i e c o n t r i b u t e s a n i m p o r t a n t a n a l y t i c a l f r a m e w o r k w i t h i n w h i c h t o s t u d y l a r g e - s c a l e a r t i f a c t s , a s w e l l as o f f e r i n g e x p l a n a t i o n s of p a r t i c u l a r a r c h i t e c t u r a l p e t t e r n i n g t h a t a p p l y t o a n area m u c h l a r g e r t h a n that s u r v e y e d .
2 I
I N D U S T R I A L A R C H E O L O G Y A S A S C H O L A R L Y D I S C I P L I N E
1 I N D U S T R I A L A R C H E O L O G Y : D I S C O V E R I N G M O R E
A B O U T H U M A N B E H A V I O R I N T H E P A S T 1
Dianne Newel1
Department o f H i s t o r y
The U n i v e r s i t y o f Western O n t a r i o
London, Canada
The human s c i e n c e s a r e , t o paraphrase a widely known French males--in o t h e r words, about most p e o p l e .
h i s t o r i a n , Marc Bloch, o n l y " a u t h e n t i c " when t h e y succeed i n To s a y , o f c o u r s e , t h a t anyone i n t e r e s t e d i n u n d e r s t a n d i n g t h e e s t a b l i s h i n g e x p l a n a t o r y r e l a t i o n s i p s between phenomena.2 Throughout
p a s t should i g n o r e w r i t t e n documents is absurd . H i s t o r i c r h e t o r i c can t h i s c e n t u r y s e r i o u s s c h o l a r s of t h e p a s t have been deve loping new and be s t u d i e d t o l e a r n o f t h e i n t e n t i o n s and p e r s p e c t i v e s o f i t s a u t h o r s ; more s y s t e m a t i c approaches t o t h e i r i n v e s t i g a t i o n s . ? They r e c o e n i z e o t h e r w i s e , t h e g r e a t e s t r o l e o f l i t e r a r y e v i d e n c e i n c r e a s i n g l y i s a t h a t human a c t i v i t y i s l a r g e l y r a t i o n a l and very complex and have come c o r r o b o r a t i v e one .6 What is impor tan t h e r e is s imply t h a t t o abandon " f o r t u n a " and "chance" a s e x p l a n a t i o n o f p a s t behavior . '
n o n - i n t e n t i o n a l s o u r c e s have a much l a r g e r p l a c e t h a n e v e r i n t h e Moreover, t h e y r e j e c t p r e o c c u p a t i o n s wi th q u e s t i o n s of
o r i g i n s - - e s t a b l i s h i n g t h e a e n e s i s o f i n v e n t i o n s , de te rmin ing b u i l d e r s '
names, and s o on--as an end i n i t s e l f . Cont ra ry t o popular views of
t h e h i s t o r i a n ' s c r a f t , e s t a b l i s h i n g t h e s e and o t h e r f a c t s is no
s u b s t i t u t e f o r e x p l a i n i n g them. There is a need t o s t u d y human
behavior s y s t e m a t i c a l l y o v e r t ime and a c r o s s space i n o r d e r t o
d i s c o v e r p a t t e r n s and c a u s a l r e l a t i o n s h i p s .
E s s e n t i a l l y , t h e g o a l of t h i s new approach t o h i s t o r y is t o
a r r i v e a t r e l i a b l e e x p l a n a t i o n s o f a f u l l range of human e x p e r i e n c e .
To t h a t end s c h o l a r s a r e i n t e r e s t e d i n u n d e r s t a n d i n a what happened t o
most people i n t h e p a s t . Of c o u r s e , many s t i l l c a r e t o examine t h e
famous people and e v e n t s of h i s t o r y bu t many o t h e r s a r e f i n d i n g more
f r u i t f u l such q u e s t i o n s a s why c h i l d r e n i n 1820 worked i n f a c t o r i e s ,
y e t , by 1880, t h e y went t o s c h o o l . I n o r d e r t o under take such s t u d i e s
a s t h e s e a t t e m p t s a r e be ing made t o e x p l o r e a h i s t o r i c a l r e c o r d t h a t
i s bo th b r o a d l y r e p r e s e n t a t i v e and u n i n t e n t i o n a l l y i n f o r m a t i v e . ^
W r i t t e n documents, long t h e keys tone o f h i s t o r i c a l r e s e a r c h ,
prove p a r t i c u l a r i l y inadequate i n t h e s e n s e t h a t t h e y u s u a l l y
r e p r e s e n t o n l y t h o s e few people i n a g i v e n c u l t u r e who c o u l d w r i t e , o r
whose l i v e s were judged impor tan t enough t o r e p o r t a b o u t . Many
s c h o l a r s a t t e m p t t o make p r o f i t a b l e u s e o f s t a t i s t i c a l i n f o r m a t i o n and L
even t o make l i t e r a r y s o u r c e s , l i k e cor respondence and newspaper
a c c o u n t s , q u a n t i f i a b l e . The bulk o f s u r v i v i n g w r i t t e n documenta t ion ,
however, c o n s i s t s o f p u r e l y e p i s o d i c , n a r r a t i v e a c c o u n t s such a s t h o s e
found i n d i a r i e s , e d i t o r i a l s , s p e e c h e s , and i n s t i t u t i o n a l r e c o r d s . I n
a d d i t i o n t o t h e i r q u e s t i o n a b l e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e n e s s , such s o u r c e s a r e
i n t e n t i o n a l l y i n f o r m a t i v e ; t h e i r a u t h o r s sought i n t e n t i o n a l l y t o
i n f l u e n c e t h e o p i n i o n o f contemporar ies o r even , a s is t h e c a s e wi th
e a r l y l o c a l h i s t o r i e s and b i o g r a p h i e s , t h e i m p r e s s i o n s o f f u t u r e
s c h o l a r s . Non- in ten t iona l s o u r c e s (maps, a r t i f a c t s , and t h e l i k e )
d i f f e r i n t h a t t h e y a r e symbols l e s s by t h e i n t e n t i o n of t h e i r
s t u d y o f human behavior i n t h e p a s t
What does t h i s hpve t o do wi th i n d u s t r i a l a r c h e o l o e y ?
I n d u s t r i a l a rcheology-- the s t u d y o f t h e p h y s i c a l ev idence o f an
i n d u s t r i a l and t e c h n o l o g i c a l p a s t - - i s becoming an import,ant s c h o l a r l y
d i s c i p l i n e . Its r i c h and p o t e n t i a l l y p r o d u c t i v e s e t o f h i s t o r i c a l
s o u r c e s a r e u n i n t e r p r e t e d and c a n r e p r e s e n t t h o s e p e o p l e who o t h e r w i s e
l e f t no r e c o r d s . Consefluently, t h e s e a r e s o u r c e s o f a s o r t t h a t can
compensate f o r many o f t h e d i f f i c u l t i e s p r e s e n t e d by t h e w r i t t e n
r e c o r d . An i n d u s t r i a l s i t e , such a s a brewery , p r o v i d e s i n f o r m a t i o n
about t h e p h y s i c a l o r g a n i z a t i o n o f a workplace . From t h a t i n f o r m a t i o n
something c a n be de te rmined about t h e h i e r a r c h i c a l s t r u c t u r e of work,
about a c t u a l t a s k s performed, and even a b o u t t h e s o c i a l v a l u e s
embodied i n t h e v i s i b l e work p r o c e s s e s .
Examination o f i n d u s t r i a l s i t e s a l s o o f f e r s i n s i g h t s i n t o t h e
l e v e l s of t e c h n o l o g i c a l s o p h i s t i c a t i o n a n d , hence , t h e p r o c e s s of
d i f f u s i o n o f t e c h n o l o g i c a l i n n o v a t i o n i n i n d u s t r i e s r a n g i n g from
button-making t o s t e e l p r o d u c t i o n . Revea l ing p a t t e r n s of
t e c h n o l o g i c a l change l e a d i n t u r n t o a n a l y s i s o f t h e impact of such
change on t h e workplace , t h e community, and t h e s o c i e t y a t l a r a e . The
impor tan t broad q u e s t i o n s l e n d i n g themselves t o such a n a l y s i s i n c l u d e :
What does t h i s s i t e t e l l u s a b o u t t h e r e s o u r c e b a s e when t h e s i t e was
deve loped? (We look f o r t h e presence o f d r i e d up s t r e a m s , o f r o a d s ,
q u a r r y i n g , and land f i l l ) . What does t h i s s i t e t e l l u s about
p o p u l a t i o n c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s ? (How many workers , what s k i l l s , what age
and s e x were l i k e l y suppor ted by a s i t e o f t h i s s c a l e and l e v e l o f
t e c h n o l o g y ? ) . What does t h i s s i t e t e l l u s a b o u t t h e economy? t h e
s o c i e t y ? I n d u s t r i a l and t e c h n o l o g i c a l remains w i l l n o t answer a q u e s t i o n s about human behavior i n t h e p a s t . IA s o u r c e s t e l l u s
l i t t l e , f o r example, about formal p o l i t i c a l behavior o r about t h e
l i v e s o f t h o s e a t t h e upper l e v e l s o f s o c i e t y ; such f l u e s t i o n s ,
however, a r e more e a s i l y approached through w r i t t e n s o u r c e ? . .. o r i g i n a t o r s . Thus, a r t i f a c t s from t o y s t o t e x t i l e f a c t o r i e s a r e among
t h e most genuine o f a l l h i s t o r i c a l s o u r c e s . They do n o t have t o be I n d u s t r i a l and t e c h n o l o g i c a l remains , t h e n , o f f e r t o s c h o l a r s a
s t r i p p e d o f t h e i r " i n t e r p r e t a t i o n " i n o r d e r t o be ana lyzed . I n unique s e t o f u n i n t e n t i o n a l s o u r c e s w i t h which t o e x p l o r e many
a d d i t i o n , such s o u r c e s can t e l l u s more t h a n t h e writ t .en r e c o r d about impor tan t q u e s t i o n s a b o u t t h e p a s t . Why do we s t u d y o l d f a c t o r i e s ,
t h e young, t h e o l d , t h e p r o p e r t y l e s s , and about females a? w e l l a s mines , c a n a l s , and v i a d u c t s ? Because we want t o know about t h e
p a s t . But , what e x a c t l y do we want t o know about t h e p a s t ?
I n d u s t r i a l a r c h e o l o g i s t s must know p r e c i s e l y what q u e s t i o n s t h e y
i n t e n d t o a s k of t h e i r s o u r c e s , why t h e y want t h e answers , and how t h e
answers f i t i n t o some broader e x p l a n a t o r y scheme.
From t h e o u t s e t i n d u s t r i a l a r c h e o l o g i s t s must deve lop o r adopt
a p p r o p r i a t e t h e o r y i n o r d e r t o i n f e r f i n d i n g s from n o n - i n t e n t i o n a l
d a t a . The s o c i a l s c i e n c e s a r e a l o g i c a l c o u r s e of gu idance .7 The
common s u b j e c t m a t t e r of t h e s o c i a l s c i e n c e s is human b e h a v i o r ; what
seems d i s t i n g u i s h each is t h e f o c u s on a p a r t i c u l a r a s p e c t of t h i s
behavior and t h e t e c h n i q u e s which each u s e s t o comprehend t h e i r
s u b j e c t m a t t e r . P o l i t i c a l s c i e n c e , f o r example, f o c u s e s on
government. Economics c o n c e n t r a t e s on t h e product ion and d i s t r i b u t i o n
o f marke tab le goods. Soc io logy d e a l s w i t h t h e many human i n t e r a c t i o n s
and s t r u c t u r e s involved i n human sys tems . These t h r e e d i s c i p l i n e s
seek p r i n c i p l e s t h a t a r e independent o f t ime o r p l a c e and t o g e t h e r
wi th t r a d i t i o n a l h i s t o r y g e n e r a l l y a r e concerned w i t h " i n t e n t i o n a l "
documentation.
It is t o t h e s e d i s c i p l i n e s t.hat one g e n e r a l l y t u r n s i n t h e
s e a r c h f o r b a s i c t h e o r e t i c a l p r o p o s i t i o n s about why people behaved t h e
way t h e y d i d . For example, t h e very h e a r t o f i n d u s t r i a l a r c h e o l o g y ' s
d i s c i p l i n a r y i d e n t i t y - - t h e word i n d u s t r i a l - - r e p r e s e n t s a n i m p l i c i t
acceptance o f a broad range of assumpt ions , d e f i n i t i o n s , and t h e o r i e s
from economics, h i s t o r y , and s o c i o l o g y about a major h i s t o r i c a l
t r a n s f o r m a t i o n t h a t occur red between humans and t h e i r m a t e r i a l
sur roundings .
For t h e methodologica l purposes o f i n d u s t r i a l a r c h e o l o g y ,
perhaps i t i s b e s t t o pay c l o s e a t t e n t i o n a l s o t o t h o s e d i s c i p l i n e s
(and s u b - d i s c i p l i n e s ) t h a t r e l y mainly upon non-wr i t ten records--human
geography, f o l k l o r e , a rcheology , and a r c h i t e c t u r a l h i s t o r y . Of t h o s e
f o u r o n l y a rcheology and f o l k l o r e a r e e s p e c i a l l y concerned wi th t h e
of non-wr i t ten documenta t ion , and , more p a r t i c u l a r l y , t h r e e
d imens iona l d a t a . The o t h e r s u s e non-wr i t ten documentation and
c o n t r i b u t e c o n s i d e r a b l y t o deve loping t e c h n i q u e s f o r r e c o r d i n g and
d e s c r i b i n g d a t a , bu t have done s o wi thout deve loping much i n t h e way
o f a t h e o r e t i c a l framework w i t h i n which t o a n a l y z e and e x p l a i n t h e
d a t a . A r c h e o l o g i s t s and f o l k l o r i s t s , by c o n t r a s t , have devised
methods o f s t u d y i n g t h e h o r i z o n t a l ( s p a t i a l ) and v e r t i c a l ( h i s t o r i c a l )
i n t e r r e l a t i o n s h i p s o f t h e i r d a t a and i n f e r c o n c l u s i o n s from t h e i r
s o u r c e s th rough ana logy wi th s t r u c t u r e s and p r o c e s s e s p e r c e i v a b l e
today . Thus. i n f e r e n c e by ana logy is t h e i r method t o "observe" t h e
unobservable . A r t i f a c t s a r e s t u d i e d , l i k e languaee , a s symbolic of
c u l t u r e and behaviour .
Because t h e symbolic c o n t e n t o f such s o u r c e s a s f a c t o r i e s is ,
by d e f i n i t i o n , n o t a p p a r e n t , some methodology must be developed t o
make s e n s e o f t h a t m a t e r i a l . F o l k l o r i s t s d e v i s e s e t s of r u l e s , o r
'grammars" f o r l anguage , music, and even a r t i f a c t s l i k e f u r n i t u r e ,
costume, and most r e c e n t l y , hous ing .8 United S t a t e s ' f o l k l o r i s t ,
Henry G l a s s i e , dec ided t h a t , o f a l l c l a s s e s o f a r t i f a c t s , a r c h i t e c t u r e
was t h e b e s t g u i d e t o p a s t c u l t u r e because o f i t s u n i v e r s a l i t y ,
t e n a c i t y , complexi ty , and f i x e d n e s s . 9 S c h o l a r s a r e indebted t o h i s
p i o n e e r i n g e f f o r t s i n t h e s t r u c t u r a l a n a l y s i s of domestic
a r c h i t e c t u r e , f o r h i s s t u d y s u r e l y p o i n t s t h e way t o t h e a p p l i c a t i o n
of s y s t e m a t i c t e c h n i a u e s t o s i t e s o f i n t e r e s t t o i n d u s t r i a l
a r c h e o l o g i s t s . For t h e i r p a r t , a r c h e o l o p i s t s t e n d t o r e l y on
c l a s s i f i c a t i o n a s a prime a n a l y t i c a l t o o l . While t r a d i t i o n a l l y
d e a l i n g wi th t h e a n a l y s i s o f form ( p a r t s ) , s t r u c t u r e ( r e l a t i o n s h i p o f
p a r t s ) , and c o n t e x t o f below ground a r t i f a c t s and assemblages , t h e y
r e c e n t l y a t tempted t o d e v i s e c o n c e p t u a l t o o l s wi th which t o i n t e r p r e t
such s u r f a c e remains a s tombstones .^ A t l e z s t one i n d u s t r i a l
a r c h e o l o g i s t h a s r a i s e d t h e need t o i n c l u d e workers ' g r a v e y a r d s i n I A
i n v e s t i g a t i o n s , b u t h e o f f e r s no way i n which t o u s e t h a t d a t a , o t h e r
t h a n c o n s i d e r i n g i t f o r t h e "sake o f i n t e r e s t . " ^ One t h i n g t h a t
a r c h e o l o g i s t s need t o do i s t o e s t a b l i s h t h e grammar ( r u l e s and
r e l a t i o n s h i p s ) o f i n d u s t r i a l s i t e s .
What is l a c k i n g o v e r a l l i s a s y s t e m a t i c approach t o i n d u s t r i a l
a rcheology . Without t h i s we a r e mere ly c h r o n i c l i n e s e r i e s o f
i n t e r e s t i n g f a c t s , o r s i t e s , o r " i n s i g h t s " about t h e p a s t . Most o f t e n
t h e s i t e s a r e s t u d i e d s imply a s o b j e c t s i n themselves . L i k e
t r a d i t i o n a l h i s t o r i a n s , i n d u s t r i a l a r c h e o l o g i s t s have a tendency t o
focus on t h e u n i a u e , t h e " s u c c e s s f u l , " and t h e e x q u i s i t e . The works
of Prominent a r c h i t e c t s and e n g i n e e r s , t h e n o v e l , and t h e s t r u c t u r e s
wi th t h e b e s t s u r v i v a l r a t e i n e v i t a b l y r e c e i v e t h e most a t t e n t i o n i n
North America and e l sewhere . Consequent ly , t h e r e i s l i t t l e s e a r c h f o r
and s t u d y o f t h e remains o f common i n d u s t r i a l a c t i v i t y o r s i t e s more
r e p r e s e n t a t i v e of t h e e x p e r i m e n t a l and t r a n s i t i o n a l s t a g e s o f
development, o r even o f t h e f a i l u r e s . A s s y s t e m a t i c i n v e s t i g a t o r s ,
i n d u s t r i a l a r c h e o l o g i s t s must deve lop sampl ina procedures ,
c l a s s i f i c a t i o n schemes, and s e t s o f l o g i c a l l y d e r i v e d hypotheses w i t h
which t o s e l e c t , i n v e s t i g a t e , and i n t e r p r e t t h e i r s o u r c e s . Being
aware o f t h e k i n d s of h i s t o r i c a l q u e s t i o n s t h a t t h e i r s o u r c e s can
answer w i l l be a n impor tan t f i r s t s t e p t o more u s e f u l s u r v e y i n g and
r e c o r d i n g e f f o r t s .
Data g a t h e r i n g i n t h e s e n s e o f i d e n t i f y i n e and r e c o r d i n g
i n d u s t r i a l and t e c h n o l o g i c a l remains is t h e o n l y a r e a i n which
i n d u s t r i a l a r c h e o l o g i s t s have c o n c e n t r a t e d t o d a t e . There i s a danger
i n having proceeded w i t h t h i s s t a g e w i t h o u t f i r s t s t a t i n g e x p l i c i t , l y
what t h e q u e s t i o n s a r e , why t h e y miqht be i m p o r t a n t , and e x a c t l y what
m a t e r i a l w i l l be used t o answer t h o s e q u e s t i o n s . None o f t h e p r e s e n t
manuals on r e c o r d i n g t e c h n i a u e s a d d r e s s t h i s c r u c i a l problem. Whether
o r n o t t h e y a r e s t a t e d , g u i d i n g p r i n c i p l e s a lways u n d e r l y a n a p ~ r o a c h
t o i n v e s t i g a t i o n s ; t h e i m p l i c i t q u e s t i o n s t h a t i n d u s t r i a l
a r c h e o l o g i s t s u s e i n d e c i d i n g what t o s t u d y ; what d e t a i l s o r a s p e c t s
t o r e c o r d ; what t o draw o r photograph; and what t o d e s c r i b e i n o t h e r
ways, shape t h e f i n a l outcome o f t h e s t u d y , no m a t t e r how o b j e c t i v e
i n v e s t i g a t o r s p r e t e n d t o be.
Cons ider , f o r example, how It s i t e teams o f t e n w i l l f a i t h f u l l y
r e c o r d f l o o r p l a n s o f f a c t o r i e s , c a r e f u l l y p o s i t i o n i n g a l l extant ,
p roduct ion and power t r a n s m i s s i o n equipment. Such s c a l e drawings
provide a r e c o r d o f t h e s p a t i a l r e l a t i o n s h i p s w i t h i n a g i v e n
workplace, b u t t h e r e a l c o n t r i b u t i o n of such m a t e r i a l t o u n d e r s t a n d i n g
t h e s o c i a l impact o f t e c h n o l o g i c a l change remains undeveloped.
Without pos ing q u e s t i o n s approaching t h e d a t a it i s l i k e l y t h a t
r e c o r d i n g teams w i l l c o n t i n u e t h e i r c u r r e n t p r a c t i c e o f i n c l u d i n g
i n f o r m a t i o n about p r o c e s s and equipment i n drawings o n l y when s u c h
i n f o r m a t i o n is abundant . I f i n d u s t r i a l a r c h e o l o g i s t s were f i r s t t o
de te rmine j u s t how many impor tan t Q u e s t i o n s about changing n o t i o n s o f
work, changing r e l a t i o n s h i p s between workers and management, and
changing s t r u c t u r e of t h e i n d u s t r i a l workforce , t o name b u t a few,
could be measured by such s p a t i a l d a t a , t h e n s u r e l y r e c o r d i n g teams
would be o b l i g e d t o r e c o r d s p a t i a l r e l a t i o n s h i p s - - e v e n when a l l
equpiment had been removed. A w e a l t h o f e v i d e n t i a r y
m a t e r i a l - - e v e r y t h i n g from e x t e r n a l b u t t r e s s i n g and b r i c k e d up windows,
t o e x c e s s i v e wear on t h e f l o o r s and l a r g e dimension screw h o l e s i n t h e
s u p p o r t i n g columns--will go a long way t o s u p p l y i n g m i s s i n g
i n f o r m a t i o n . 1 2 Rely ing on d e s c r i p t i o n s s u p p l i e d by contemporary
d i c t i o n a r i e s o f manufac tures and s u r v i v i n g drawings w i l l n o t do .
Contempory d e s c r i p t i o n s o f p r o c e s s and a r c h i t e c t u r e a r e l a r g e l y
i d e a l i z e d and t h e y , t o e e t h e r w i t h drawings t h a t s u r v i v e , seldom can be
assumed t o r e p r e s e n t much more t h a n t h e most s u c c e s s f u l o f i n d u s t r i a l
e n t e r p r i s e s .
F i n a l l y , d e s c r i p t i o n s , whether l i t e r a r y o r g r a p h i c , seldom
inform o f changing c o n d i t i o n s o v e r t ime and a c r o s s s p a c e , whereas
p h y s i c a l remains a r e much more l i k e l y t o provide such i n f o r m a t i o n . An
e x c e p t i o n a l l y t h o u g h t f u l p i e c e was r e c e n t l y publ i shed on t h e impact o f
t h e i n d u s t , r i a l r e v o l u t i o n i n B r i t a i n on t h e n a t u r e of work. The
q u e s t i o n t e s t e d was t h a t mechaniza t ion i n t h e "age of steam" was
l a r g e l y conf ined t o a few, i s o l a t e d o p e r a t i o n s w i t h i n most i n d u s t r i e s ;
a s a r e s u l t , t h e i n c r e a s e i n s c a l e and range o f p roduct ion caused by
t h e i n d u s t r i a l r e v o l u t i o n p r o p o r t i o n a l l y i n c r e a s e d , r a t h e r t h a n
d e c r e a s e d , manual l a b o r and hand technology--a n o t i o n seldom
cons idered by s c h o l a r s . The ev idence used t o a n a l y z e t h i s o u e s t i o n .
however, was l i m i t e d t o contemporary a c c o u n t s o f i n d u s t r i a l p r o c e s s
d i scovered i n manuals on manufac tur ing and i n a h a n d f u l of workers '
d i a r i e s . The o r i g i n s and b i a s o f t h e s e s o u r c e s went unques t ioned .
More impor tan t was t h e f a i l u r e t o c o n s u l t p h y s i c a l ev idence p r e s e n t e d
by s u r v i v i n g i n d u s t r i a l s i t e s , s o t h a t t h e c o n c l u s i o n s , w h i l e h i g h l y
i n t e r e s t i n g , do n o t n e c e s s a r i l y r e f l e c t what a c t u a l l y happened .^3
Converse ly , a n o t h e r s t u d y , t h a t o f t h e impact o f t e c h n o l o g i c a l change
F o o t n o t e s
1 . T h i s paper owes a g r e a t d e a l t o i n t e r e a c t i o n wi th c o l l e a g u e s
i n t h e Landon P r o j e c t , U n i v e r s i t y o f Western O n t a r i o . My g r e a t e s t
i n t e l l e c t u a l d e b t i s t o P r o j e c t D i r e c t o r , Richard S . Alcorn, who both
encouraged t h e p r e p a r a t i o n o f t h i s paper and o f f e r e d i n v a l u a b l e
c r i t i c i s m .
2. Marc Bloch , The ~ i s t o r i a n ' s C r a f t : R e f l e c t i o n s on t h e
Nature and Uses of H i s t o r y and t h e Technioues and Methods of t h e Men
who Wri te it (1935; r e p r i n t e d . , New York: Vintage Books, 1953).
3. I n a d d i t i o n t o Bloch, s e e : Lee Benson, Toward t h e
S c i e n t i f i c S tudv o f H i s t o r y : S e l e c t e d Essays of Lee Benson
( P h i l a d e l p h i a : J . L i p p i n c o t t , 1972) ; Robert Berkhofer , A Behaviora l
Approach t o H i s t o r i c a l Analys i s (New York: The F r e e P r e s s , 1969) ,
and , Al f red Kuhn, Uni f ied S o c i a l S c i e n c e : A System-Based I n t r o d u c t i o n
(Homewood, 111. : The Dorsey P r e s s , 1975).
4. See e s p e c i a l l y , Benson, S c i e n t i f i c S tudy , pp. 14, 220; and
Berkhofer , Behaviora l Approach, pp. 11-I?.
5. Impor tan t d i s c u s s i o n s o f t h e v a l u e of non-wr i t ten and
n o n - i n t e n t i o n a l documentat,ion appear i n Raphael Samuel, "Local H i s t o r y
and O r a l H i s t o r y . " H i s t o r y Workshop 1 (1976) : 191-2Oq; Henry G l a s s i e ,
Folk Housing i n Middle V i r g i n i a : A S t r u c t u r a l A n a l y s i s of H i s t o r i c
A r t i f a c t s ( K n o x v i l l e , Tennessee: U n i v e r s i t y o f Tennessee P r e s s ,
1 9 7 5 ) , Chapters Two and Three; and J o s e E. I e a r t u a , "Non-Written
Documentation a s a Source f o r I n t e r d i s c i p l i n a r y His tory . ' '
Mimeographed. London, Ontar io : The Landon P r o j e c t , U n i v e r s i t y o f
Western O n t a r i o , 1977.
i n t h e brewing i n d u s t r y on brew house a r c h i t e c t u r e , ana lyzed w r i t t e n ,
g r a p h i c , and p h y s i c a l d a t a b u t never once sugges ted why such
i n f o r m a t i o n might be impor tan t t o u n d e r s t a n d i n g t h e p a s t . 1 4 I n t h e
c a s e of t h e f i r s t s t u d y , t h e q u e s t i o n s were w e l l developed b u t t h e
d a t a were i n s u f f i c i e n t t o produce r e l i a b l e c o n c l u s i o n s ; i n t h e
second , t h e d a t h were s t r o n g e r b u t a t h e o r e c t i c a l b a s e and t e s t a b l e
q u e s t i o n s were m i s s i n g . The t a s k ahead f o r i n d u s t r i a l a r c h e o l o g i s t s
seems c l e a r .
The new s c h o l a r l y h o r i z o n s f o r i n d u s t r i a l a rcheology a r e
b e h a v i o r a l and s c i e n t i f i c o n e s . As a b e g i n n i n g , f a c t o r i e s and mines
can be regarded a s working p l a c e s , n o t s imply a s a r c h i t e c t u r e and
equipment; b r i d g e s and l i g h t h o u s e s can be viewed a s s i g n i f i c a n t
e lements o f human t r a n s p o r t a t i o n and communications ne tworks , n o t
mere ly a s e n g i n e e r i n g and d e s i q n . By f o c u s i n q on a c t u a l remains and
deve loping a p p r o p r i a t e t h e o r e t i c a l p e r s p e c t i v e s and i n v e s t i g a t i v e
t e c h n i q u e s , i n d u s t r i a l a r c h e o l o g i s t s a r e c a p a b l e of expanding i n
s p e c i a l new ways o u r knowledge o f human behavior i n t h e p a s t and o u r
g e n e r a l u n d e r s t a n d i n g of t h e human e x p e r i e n c e and i ts meaning.
6 . G l a s s i e , Fo lk Housing, p . 14ff
7 . I n t h i s s e c t i o n I r e l y h e a v i l y on I g a r t u a , "Non-Written
Document,ation," and Kuhn, Uni f ied S o c i a l S c i e n c e .
8. For a n e x h a u s t i v e rev iew o f t h e f i e l d , s e e : Henry G l a s s i e ,
" S t r u c t u r e and F u n c t i o n , F o l k l o r e and t h e A r t i f a c t . ' ' Semiotics 7
(1973) : 313-51.
9. G l a s s i e , Folk Housing, Chapters Two, Three, and Seven.
10. J. Deetz and E.S. D e t h l e f s e n , " D e a t h ' s Heads, Cherubs,
and Willow Trees : Exper imenta l Archaeology i n C o l o n i a l Cemetar ies . "
American A n t i q u i t y 31 (1966): 502-10.
11. Kenneth Hudson, v o f I n d u s t r y (London:
Thames, 1976).
12. A h i g h l y u s e f u l d i s c u s s i o n of t h i s is found i n Eugene J .
Webb, Unobt rus ive Measures: Nonreac t ive Research i n t h e
S c i e n c e s (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1070) . For one e x p l a n a t i o n of t h e
' r e p r e s e n t i v i t y " o f contemporary drawings s e e , J e n n i f e r Tann,
Development of t h e F a c t o r y (London: Cornmarket P r e s s , 1970) , p. 2 .
13. Raphael Samuel, "The Workshop o f t h e World: Steam Power
and Hand Technolory i n mid-Vic tor ian B r i t a i n . " H i s t o r y Workshop 3
(1977) : 6-72.
14. Dianne Newel1 Macdougall , "Changing Brewing Technology and
Rela ted E f f e c t s on Brew-House f r c h i t e c t u r e i n 19 th Century North , America." A paper p r e s e n t e d a t t h e Annual Meeting o f t h e S o c i e t y f o r
I n d u s t r i a l Archeology, A p r i l 1973, a t Troy, New York. Mimeographed.
2 T H E " Q U E S T I O N S " O F I N D U S T R I A L A R C H E O L O G Y
Vance Packard
Pennsylvania H i s t o r i c a l and Museum Commission
H a r r i s b u r g , PA
The o n l y r e a s o n t h a t t h e r e a r e a r c h e o l o g i s t s i n t h e world is
because h i s t o r i a n s have n o t been a b l e t o answer a l l t h e q u e s t i o n s .
Unfor tuna te ly up t o t h i s p o i n t , i n d u s t r i a l a r c h e o l o g i s t s have b a r e l y
been a s k i n g q u e s t i o n s . Some t h o u g h t needs t o be g i v e n t o t h e t y p e of
q u e s t i o n s we ought t o he a s k i n g and even more thought t o t h e ways i n
which we a s a r c h e o l o g i s t s - - t h e s t u d e n t s o f ob jec t s - -go about answer ing
them.
I n d u s t r i a l a r c h e o l o g i s t s a r e f o r t u n a t e i n a s e n s e because t h e
q u e s t i o n s most commonly asked by p r e h i s t o r i c a r c h e o l o g i s t s can u s u a l l y
be answered q u i c k l y and a c c u r a t e l y by i n d u s t r i a l a r c h e o l o g i s t s wi th
minimal h i s t o r i c a l documentary r e s e a r c h . I t i s seldom n e c e s s a r y t o
excava te a m i l l s i t e t o f i n d o u t what went on t h e r e . County h i s t o r i e s
c o n t a i n t h a t i n f o r m a t i o n . I n d u s t r i a l a r c h e o l o g i s t s must go beyond t h e
p r i n t e d h i s t o r i e s i f t h e y a r e t o make any c o n t r i b u t i o n . It took
p r e h i s t o r i c a r c h e o l o g i s t s d e c i d e s o f r e s e a r c h b e f o r e t h e y l o c a t e d
c u l t u r e s i n t ime and space p r e c i s e l y enough t o b e g i n l o o k i n g a t t h e
o t h e r a s p e c t s of c u l t u r e . For t h e i n d u s t r i a l a r c h e o l o g i s t t h e s e
concerns can u s u a l l y be answered i n a few days a t t h e l o c a l l i b r a r y .
What t h e n should t h e i n d u s t r i a l a r c h e o l o g i s t be s t u d y i n g ? They
can , o f c o u r s e , s t u d y i n d u s t r i a l s i t e s and o b j e c t s wi th t h e hope o f
l e a r n i n g more about t h e o b j e c t s , b u t t h i s should be o n l y a temporary
o r i n i t i a l s t e p . U l t i m a t e l y t h e o n l y r e a s o n f o r s t u d y i n g o b j e c t s a t
a l l is t o l e a r n more about t h e p e r s o n s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h them and t h e
g r e a t e r network o f which t h e y form a p a r t . S p e c i f i c a l l y , t h e y should
be concerned w i t h p e r s o n s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e manufac tur ing and u s e o f
a n o b j e c t . The i n v e n t o r / d e s i g n e r is perhaps more c l e a r l y t h e f o c u s o f
t h o s e concerned w i t h t h e h i s t o r y o f t echnology . Usua l ly , it i s
obvious who made a n o b j e c t and who used i t , b u t t o o r a r e l y do we
c o n s i d e r t h e e f f e c t t h i s making o r u s i n g may have had on t h e person
and t o what e x t e n t t h e manufac ture o r u t i l i t y was p a r t of a system o r
p a t t e r n o f behavior .
A few sample "ques t ions" should s e r v e a s i l l u s t r a t i o n .
Consider a m e t a l p l a n e r from t h e 1870s. Var ious p l a c e s on i t have
d e c o r a t i v e moldings t h a t s e r v e no p a r t i c u l a r f u n c t i o n , b u t a r e
p l e a s i n g t o t h e eye . The a p p l i c a t i o n of such moldings was f a i r l y
common on machine t o o l s of t h a t p e r i o d and can be c o n s i d e r e d a s a
custom o r t r a d i t i o n even though t h e y would d i s a p p e a r w i t h i n t h e n e x t
25 o r s o y e a r s . The q u e s t i o n i s t h i s : Did t h e u s e o f d e c o r a t i v e
moldings on machine t o o l s o r i g i n a t e wi th t h e d e s i g n e r / i n v e n t o r who
wished t o make t h e i r i n v e n t i o n more a t t r a c t i v e o r wi th t h e p a t t e r n
maker who l e a r n e d wood workings from a c a b i n e t maker?
Second: G r i s t m i l l s appear i d e n t i c a l t o each o t h e r ; each one
a l s o a p p e a r s un ique . The sameness is no doubt t h e r e s u l t o f t h e
p a t t e r n e s t a b l i s h e d by O l i v e r Evans, and t h e un iqueness may be t h e
r e s u l t o f i n d i v i d u a l m i l l w r i g h t s making i m p e r f e c t c o p i e s , b u t t h a t
e x p l a n a t i o n seems incomple te . There may be bo th r e g i o n a l and e t h n i c
p a t t e r n s a t work o r perhaps t h e v a r i a t i o n i s a f u n c t i o n o f d i f f e r e n t
' f a m i l i e s " o f m i l l w r i g h t s .
T h i r d : It is observed t h a t v a r i o u s t y p e s of i n d u s t r i e s t e n d t o
be l o c a t e d i n s i m i l a r t o p o g r a p h i c a l s i t u a t i o n s . I n most c a s e s t h e r e
a r e c l e a r f u n c t i o n a l r e a s o n s f o r t h e l o c a t i o n s , a s Edward Rutsoh h a s
shown w i t h h i s s t u d y o f l i m e k i l n s i n nor thwes t New J e r s e y . However,
i n some i n s t a n c e s r e a s o n s a r e obscure . For i n s t a n c e , s m a l l e a r l y saw
m i l l s i n Pennsylvania t e n d t o be l o c a t e d i n narrow g o r g e s . While t h e
r e a s o n s f o r t h i s placement seem r e l a t i v e l y obvious ( a d e q u a t e s u p p l i e s
o f wood and w a t e r power) , t h e f a c t t h a t many o f them have t h e i r wheel
p i t s c u t i n t o s o l i d r o c k s u g g e s t s a n o t h e r dimension. Obvious ly , s o
l a r g e a n inves tment was f o r a purpose .
The above q u e s t i o n s a r e based on r a t h e r c a s u a l o b s e r v a t i o n and
cannot P o s s i b l y be answered w i t h o u t some s o r t o f vis-orous methodology
t h a t i n c l u d e s b o t h a n a n a l y s i s o f t h e a v a i l a b l e w r i t t e n documents a s
w e l l a s t h e a r t i f a c t s , s t r u c t u r e s , and s i t e s themselves . T h i s l a t t e r
a n a l y s i s w i l l o n l y be e f f e c t i v e i f it d e a l s i n t h e d i s c r e t , e a t t r i b u t e s
o f o b j e c t s . Once o b j e c t s t r u c t u r e s o r s i t e s a r e broken down t o t h e
s m a l l e s t meaningfu l u n i t s o r a t t r i b u t e s , i t may be p o s s i b l e t o show
r e l a t i o n s h i p s between d i f f e r e n t wholes th rough t h e u s e o f v a r i o u s
s t a t i s t i c a l p rocedures . I n a t l e a s t some i n s t a n c e s h i s t o r i c a l d a t a
may be ana lyzed a l o n g w i t h o b s e r v a t i o n a l d a t a t o provide a more
meaningful p i c t u r e . I n a l l such endeavors t h e s k i l l and p e r c e p t i o n o f
t h e i n v e s t i g a t o r w i l l g r e a t l y a f f e c t t h e outcome.
Up t o t h i s p o i n t i n d u s t r i a l a rcheology h a s a t b e s t t a k e n a
h u m a n i s t i c approach t o knowledge. There h a s been a f a i r amount o f
i n f o r m a t i o n g a t h e r e d o v e r t h e l a s t few y e a r s , bu t l a c k i n g a common
methodology o r even a good model o f what c a n he done u s i n g a
' s c i e n t i f i c f l method, i t is u n l i k e l y t h a t t h e f i e l d c a n p r o g r e s s p a s t
t e c h n i c a l a n t i q u a r i a n i s m . Archeology i n g e n e r a l t e n d s t o be
r e v o l u t i o n i z e d e v e r y few y e a r s by a paper t h a t s e t s o u t a new
methodology and t a k e s i t t o i t s t h e o r e t i c a l l i m i t . Most o f t e n t h i s is
done by s imply d e v e l o p i n g a more v i g o r o u s a n a l y s i s which produces t h e
d a t a t o prove some i n s i g h t on t h e p a r t o f t h e i n v e s t i g a t o r s .
Recent ly , a r c h i t e c t u r a l h i s t o r y h a s been s i m i l a r l y r e v o l u t i o n i z e d by
t h e p u b l i s h i n g of Henry G l a s s i e ' s work on v e n a c u l a r hous ing i n
V i r g i n s . His methodology r e s t s p r i m a r l y on t h e s t a t i s t i c a l work o f
a n t h r o p o l o g i s t s and l i n g u i s t s and makes a s i g n i f i c a n t c o n t r i b u t i o n t o
t h e u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f a c u l t u r a l p r o c e s s . I n d u s t r i a l a rcheology
d e s p e r a t e l y needs s u c h a paper .
3 A R C H E O L O G I C A L E V I D E N C E A N D T H E S T U D Y O F H I S T O R I C A L I N D U S T R Y
Theodore Z . Penn
Old S t u r b r i d g e V i l l a g e
S t u r b r i d g e , M A
The purpose of t h i s b r i e f e s s a y is t o e x p l o r e t h e n a t u r e o f
a r c h e o l o g i c a l ev idence and t h e p a r t it p l a y s i n t h e s t u d y o f
i n d u s t r i a l h i s t o r y . The i d e a s and c o n c e p t s expressed i n t h e fo l lowing
paees were developed through one and a h a l f decades o f f i e l d w o r k ,
r e a d i n g , and d i s c u s s i o n and a r e in tended t o s t i m u l a t e f u r t h e r
r e f l e c t i o n r a t h e r t h a n t o s e r v e a s any s o r t o f g e n e r a l r u l e .
I n d u s t r i a l a r c h e o l o g i s t s today f i n d themselves i n a p o s i t i o n somewhat
ana logous t o t h e e a r l y a r c h e o l o g i s t s who searched f o r works o f a r t ,
n o t t h e p h y s i c a l remains of c u l t u r e . L ike o u r p r e d e c e s s o r s , we
sometimes c o n c e n t r a t e on t h e s p e c t a c u l a r machine o r s i t e t o
" i l l u ~ t r a t e ' " what we have l e a r n e d from documentary s o u r c e s , r a t h e r
t h a n s t r u g g l e t o d i s c o v e r e x a c t l y what i t is t h a t we o r
l e a r n from m a t e r i a l c u t u r e about t h e i n d u s t r i a l p a s t .
Archeology is d e f i n e d a s "The s c i e n t i f i c s t u d y o f t h e mat.eria1
remains o f p a s t human l i f e and p a s t human a c t i v i t i e s . " 2 T h i s
d e f i n i t i o n e s t a b l i s h e s t h a t a r t i f a c t s a r e t h e pr imary s o u r c e of
a r c h e o l o g i c a l knowledge and i t draws no a r b i t r a r y d i s t i n c t i o n between
o b j e c t s found above o r benea th t h e ground. I n d u s t r i a l a r c h e o l o g y ,
t h e n , can be i n t e r o r e t e d a s t h e s c i e n t i f i c s t u d y o f t h e m a t e r i a l
remains o f p a s t human i n d u s t r i a l l i f e and a c t i v i t , i e s , r e g a r d l e s s of
whether t h e p h y s i c a l m a t e r i a l s a r e s t a n d i n g i n t a c t on t h e i r o r i g i n a l
s i t e o r l y i n g b u r i e d i n r u i n s . Thus, t h e pr imary concern o f
i n d u s t r i a l a r c h e o l o a y i s w i t h t h e m a t e r i a l c u l t u r e o f i n d u s t r y i n t h e
p a s t a s a unique s o u r c e of informat, ion about human b e h a v i o r .
Although t h e r e a r e e x p r e s s i o n s o f human l i f e and a c t i v i t i e s
t h a t can be s t u d i e d wi th e q u a l f a c i l i t y from e i t h e r m a t e r i a l o r
documentwy s o u r c e s , some behavior is b e t t e r p reserved i n p h y s i c a l
form t h a n w r i t t e n form and v i c e - v e r s a . Thus, i n d u s t r i a l a rcheology
can provide a r e s o u r c e f o r t h e i n s p e c t i o n o f t h o s e p o r t i o n s of t h e
i n d u s t r i a l p a s t t h a t s u r v i v e e x c l u s i v e l y i n p h y s i c a l form and a r e n o t
o b s e r v a b l e th rough t h e window o f h i s t o r y .
The methods f o r r e c o r d i n g and c o l l e c t i n g a r t i f a c t s a r e
r e l a t i v e l y s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d b u t complex p a r t s o f t h e a r c h e o l o g i c a l
method. It is n o t s o s i m p l e , however, f o r h i s t o r i a n s and
a r c h e o l o g i s t s t o a g r e e on how a r t i f a c t s can be used t o s t u d y t h e p a s t .
We must deve lop a b e t t e r u n d e r s t a n d i n g of proper and e f f e c t i v e use of I p h y s i c a l remains a s s o u r c e s o f a r c h e o l o g i c a l i n f o r m a t i o n , f o r t h e r e
a r e l i m i t s t o what can be l e a r n e d from m a t e r i a l c u l t u r e . A c a r e f u l
- s t u d y o f q u i l l pens cannot h e l p w r i t e p o l i t i c a l h i s t o r y , n o r can
machines inform u s of t h e s o c i a l concerns o f t h e i r o p e r a t o r s o r t h e
r e l i q i o u s c o n v i c t i o n s of t h e i r i n v e n t o r s .
The c l a s s i c and or thodox s t a t e m e n t o f t h e l i m i t a t i o n s o f
p h y s i c a l ev idence was formula ted i n 1954 by C h r i s t o p h e r ~ a w k e s . 3 His
i d e a s were developed f u r t h e r i n t h e f o l l o w i n g decade by F.T.
Wainwright. Hawkes and Wainwright s e p a r a t e d a r c h e o l o g i c a l ev idence
i n t o t h e f o l l o w i n g f o u r c a t e g o r i e s which can be a p p l i e d t o t h e s t u d y
o f human behavior on ly wi th i n c r e a s i n g d i f f i c u l t y . F i r s t , t h e
a r t i f a c t s themselves can speak t o u s d i r e c t l y a b o u t t h e t e c h n i q u e s and
t h e seauence o f o p e r a t i o n s employed i n t h e i r manufac ture . They a l s o
can e x h i b i t ev idence o f t h e t e c h n i c a l s k i l l and a e s t h e t i c concerns o f
t h e i n d i v i d u a l s who produced them. Second, economic a c t i v i t y and
economies can be s t u d i e d th rough p h y s i c a l remains b u t i n f e r e n c e s from
a r t i f a c t s t o t h e s e a s p e c t s o f c u l t u r e a r e n o t a s d i r e c t a s i n t h e
f i r s t c a t e g o r y and i n v o l v e a g r e a t e r d e g r e e o f assumpt ion . Answers t o
economic q u e s t i o n s asked o f m a t e r i a l c u l t u r e a r e n o t a lways i m p l i c i t
i n t h e o b j e c t s themselves b u t must be d e r i v e d o c c a s i o n a l l y from
a d d i t i o n a l ev idence . T h i r d , i n f e r e n c e and assumpt ion can be extended
f u r t h e r t o a d d r e s s s o c i a l and p o l i t i c a l i s s u e s . G r e a t c a r e must be
e x e r c i s e d h e r e , however, f o r t h e s e p a r t s o f c u l t u r e a r e ex t remely
d i f f i c u l t t o s t u d y from a r t i f a c t u a l e v i d e n c e . And, f o u r t h , t h e
i n t e l l e c t u a l and i d e o l o g i c a l a s p e c t s o f human b e h a v i o r a r e t h e most
d i f f i c u l t t o l e a r n a b o u t from p h y s i c a l r e m a i n s . &
A p a r t i c u l a r l y impor tan t p a r t o f t h e work o f i n d u s t r i a l
a rcheology i s t o i d e n t i f y and s t u d y t h e a r e a s o f i n d u s t r i a l a c t i v i t y
t h a t s u r v i v e i n p h y s i c a l form o n l y . Today, t h e d i f f u s i o n of t e c h n i c 8 1
knowledge i s f a c i l i t a t e d by s p e c i a l i z e d p u b l i c a t i o n s and formal
c lass room t e a c h i n e . These d i f f u s i o n mechanisms were n o t a s o r g a n i z e d
o r a s e f f e c t i v e i n t h e e a r l y decades of t h e 19 th c e n t u r y . I n s t e a d ,
e n g i n e e r s and mechanics l e a r n e d t h e i r t r a d e s on t h e job i n f a c t o r i e s
and machine shops by d i r e c t e x p e r i e n c e and word-of-mouth. Informat ion
moved from person t o person by v e r b a l r a t h e r t h a n w r i t t e n means. For
t h i s r e a s o n , many o f t h e p r i n c i p l e s and p r a c t i c e s o f machine b u i l d i n g
o r t h e r e a s o n s f o r t h e u s e o f p a r t i c u l a r m a t e r i a l s f o r p a r t i c u l a r
a p p l i c a t i o n s were never recorded on paper . The g r e a t i n v e n t i o n s and
i d e a s r e c e i v e d some a t t e n t i o n i n t h e n a s c e n t t e c h n i c a l p r e s s , b u t few
documents can be found t h a t h e l p i n t e r p r e t commonplace and everyday
mechanisms and procedures . The o n l y r e c o r d o f many o f t h e a c t i v i t i e s
and p r o d u c t s o f t h e e a r l y m i l l w r i g h t s and m a c h i n i s t s is i n t h e
a r t i f a c t s t h e y l e f t beh ind; once t h e y a r e l o s t , p a r t o f t h e r e c o r d o f
i n d u s t r i a l c u l t u r e is gone--completely and i r r e v o c a b l y .
The f i r s t machine t o o l , f o r example, t o f i n d common u s e i n
America 's s h o p s and f a c t o r i e s was t h e t u r n i n g l a t h e . With t h e
i n v e n t i o n o f t h e s l i d e r e s t and t h e power feed t h e s e l f - g u i d e d c u t t i n g
t o o l o f t h e l a t h e could t u r n , b o r e , and t h r e a d m e t a l o r wooden p a r t s
wi th g r e a t p r e c i s i o n . S ingle -handedly , t h e l a t h e caused a r e v o l u t i o n
i n t h e way i n which machinery was conce ived and c o n s t r u c t e d y e t a lmos t
n o t h i n g was w r i t t e n about t h e o p e r a t i o n of t h e s e e a r l y machines nor
t h e i r s i m i l a r i t i e s and d i f f e r e n c e s . Such a l a t h e removed from t h e
Crown and Eagle M i l l s o f North Uxbridge, M a s s a c h u s e t t s , is now i n t h e
c o l l e c t i o n s o f Old S t u r b r i d g e V i l l a g e . Machines o f t h e same e r a and
s i m i l a r t y p e a r e p r e s e r v e d by t h e N a t i o n a l Museum of H i s t o r y and
Technology, t h e S l a t e r M i l l H i s t o r i c S i t e , and t h e American P r e c i s i o n
Museum. S i n c e t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f s p i n d l e b e a r i n g s , t h e e v o l u t i o n o f
advance mechanisms, and t h e p r o v i s i o n f o r h o l d i n g c u t t i n g t o o l s a r e
n o t d e s c r i b e d i n any d e t a i l i n w r i t t e n form, t h e s e t o p i c s c a n be
s t u d i e d o n l y by o b s e r v i n g t h e machines themselves .
It is n o t p o s s i b l e f o r t h e few e a r l y l a t h e s t h a t a r e p r e s e r v e d
i n museum c o l l e c t i o n s t o t e l l u s how widespread o r how common t h e use
of t h e machines was. I f t h e number of s u r v i v i n g l a t h e s were g r e a t e r ,
o r i f even more were known about t h e o r i g i n a l l o c a t i o n and f u n c t i o n o f
t h e p r e s e r v e d machines, Q u e s t i o n s a b o u t u s e and t y p i c a l i t y could be
a d d r e s s e d more e a s i l y by a r c h e o l o g i c a l e v i d e n c e . The l a c k o f m a t e r i a l
F i g u r e 1. T u r n i n g l a t h e f r o m t h e C r o w n & E a g l e M i l l s , N o r t h U x b r i d g e , M a s s a c h u s e t t s , c l 8 4 0 . O l d S t u r b r i d g e V i l l a g e p h o t o g r a p h b y H e n r y E. P e a c h .
ev idence r e l a t i n g t o economic a c t i v i t y i n t h i s c a s e can be p a r t i p l l y
compensated f o r by t h e c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f w r i t t e n ev idence which can
make some c o n t r i b u t i o n t o u n d e r s t a n d i n g e a r l y l a t h e s i n t h e i r
contemporary environment.
The Phoenix M i l l , a s m a l l s t o n e c o t t o n f a c t o r y c o n t a i n i n g about
900 s p i n d l e s , was b u i l t i n t h e town o f Ashford, Connec t icu t i n 1823 a s
t h e second m i l l i n a company-owned t e x t i l e manufac tur ing v i l l a g e .
N e i t h e r t h e e a r l y machinery nor t h e company p a p e r s is known t o have
s u r v i v e d . B u t , h i s t o r i c ? ] , ev idence i n t h e form o f l o c a l h i s t o r y and
land and p r o b a t e r e c o r d s is a v a i l a b l e f o r s t u d y . Such r e c o r d s o f t e n
c o n t a i n i n v e n t o r i e s l i s t i n g t h e equipment owned by companies and
i n d i v i d u a l s , a l t h o u g h f i n d i n g them can be t e d i o u s and d i f f i c u l t work,
t o a s s u r e t h e f a i r d i s p o s i t i o n o f a s s e t s i n t h e e v e n t o f t h e s a l e of
p r o p e r t y o r d e a t h o f i ts owner. These r e c o r d s a r e p a r t i c u l a r l y good
i n t h e c a s e o f t h e Phoenix M i l l , f o r a bankruptcy deed of 1830, a
mortgage deed of 1840, an e x e c u t i o n t o r e c o v e r d e b t o f 1844, and a n
i n v e n t o r y o f p e r s o n a l e s t a t e o f 1852, list machinery i n t h e f a c t o r y ,
i n c l u d i n g t h r e e l a t h e s d e s c r i b e d a s a c u t t i n g e n g i n e and two t u r n i n g
l a t h e s . Thus, t h e presence of l a t h e s i n a p a r t i c u l a r l o c a t i o n a t
s p e c i f i c moments i n t ime i s confirmed by t h e documents. S i m i l a r
r e c o r d s demons t ra te t h a t o t h e r mills were s i m i l a r l y equipped and a
p a t t e r n emerges from t h e h i s t o r i c a l documents t h a t is u s e f u l t o
i n t e r p r e t i n g t h e machinery and work o f e a r l y t e x t i l e f a c t o r i e s
The w r i t t e n s o u r c e s , however, cannot d e t e r m i n e t h a t t h e t h r e e
machines l i s t e d i n t h e 1830 deed a r e t h e same a s t h e one i n c l u d e d i n
t h e 1852 p r o b a t e i n v e n t o r y . N e i t h e r , e x c e p t i n a g e n e r a l way, c a n t h e
documents s u g g e s t what t a s k s each l a t h e was c a p a b l e o f per forming .
Thus, t h e w r i t t e n ev idence r e l a t i n g t o t h e l a t h e s provided u s wi th
economic i n f o r m a t i o n about q u a n t i t y , l o c a t i o n , and chronology but v e r y
l i t t l e t eChn0l0QiCal i n f o r m a t i o n about s h a p e , m a t e r i a l s , and
o p e r a t i o n . R e f e r r i n g back t o t h e e a r l i e r d i s c u s s i o n of t h e a c t u a l
machines, t h e a r t i f a c t s cannot s u p p l y e a s i l y t h e k ind of economic
ev idence p r e s e r v e d i n t h e l a n d and p r o b a t e r e c o r d s ( q u a n t i t y ,
l o c a t i o n , and chronology) b u t c a n provide t e c h n o l o g i c a l ev idence n o t
a v a i l a b l e i n t h e documents ( s h a p e , m a t e r i a l s , and o p e r a t i o n ) .
I f any o f t h e l a t h e s p r e s e r v e d i n museum c o l l e c t i o n s were found
i n t h e Phoenix M i l l , i n t e g r a t i n g t h e a r c h e o l o g i c a l and h i s t o r i c a l
ev idence would n o t p r e s e n t problems. No d i r e c t p h y s i c a l i n f o r m a t i o n
about t h e p a r t i c u l a r t y p e of machines used i n t h e Phoenix M i l l i s
a v a i l a b l e , however, s o s c h o l a r s a r e forced t o i n f e r from s p a r s e
p h y s i c a l e v i d e n c e g a t h e r e d e l sewhere i n o r d e r t o i n t e r p r e t t h e s i t e ;
t h i s can be done but assumpt ions must be made i n o r d e r t o i n t e g r a t e
t h e a r c h e o l o g i c a l and h i s t o r i c a l ev idence . The l a c k o f back-gearing
and a n a d j u s t a b l e l o n g i t u d i n a l feed on t h e l a t h e from t h e Crown and
Eagle Mills i n d i c a t e s t h a t t h e machine was used f o r l i g h t t u r n i n g
j o b s , perhaps f o r wooden p a r t s . The s t e e p c l e a r a n c e a n g l e s ground
i n t o t h e t o o l - b i t clamped i n t h e t o o l p o s t a l s o s u g g e s t s t h a t t h e
machine was employed f o r wood t u r n i n g . One of t h e t u r n i n g l a t h e s
( e x c l u d i n g t h e engine l a t h e ) l i s t e d on t h e i n v e n t o r i e s of t h e Phoenix
M i l l may have been very s i m i l a r t o t h i s machine. A s p a r t o f t h e
equipment o f t h e f a c t o r y , a l a t h e o f t h i s t y p e would have been
employed t o manufac ture and r e p a i r wooden r o l l e r s and bobbins f o r
t e x t i l e machines.
The i n t e g r a t i o n o f a r c h e o l o g i c a l and h i s t o r i c a l ev idence is
s i m p l i f i e d f o r i n d u s t r i a l s i t e s t h a t s t i l l have t h e i r o r i ~ i n a l
equipment. An ex t remely r a r e example o f a c a s t i r o n s h a f t i n g system
f o r t r a n s m i t t i n g power from t h e waterwheel i n t h e basement t o t h e
machinery on t h e two f l o o r s above is s t i l l i n p l a c e i n t h e G i l l e t t e
G r i s t M i l l , l o c a t e d i n New H a r t f o r d , C o n n e c t i c u t . I n t h e v e r y e a r l y
decades o f t h e 19th c e n t u r y , c a s t i r o n s h a f t i n g began t o r e p l a c e t h e
e a r l i e r , wooden t r a n s m i s s i o n equipment. Cas t i r o n s h a f t i n g , b e i n g
made of b r i t t l e m a t e r i a l , b roke e a s i l y and was ex t remely a rduous t o
F i g u r e 2. T h e P h o e n i x M i l l , b u i l t i n 1832, A s h f o r d , C o n n e c t i c u t . O l d S t u r b r i d g e V i l l a g e p h o t o g r a p h b y J. A l a n B r z y s .
F i g u r e 3. C a s t - i r o n s h a f t i n g a n d c o u p l i n g in t h e G i l l e t t e G r i s t M i l l , c l850 . N e w H a r t f o r d , C o n n e c t i c u t . P h o t o g r a p h b y a u t h o r .
r e p a i r because t h e p u l l e y s and g e a r s were r i g i d l y f a s t e n e d i n p o s i t i o n
by d r i v i n g i r o n wedges between t h e po lygonal s h a f t s and t h e matching
hubs. These p u l l e y s and g e a r s could be removed from a broken s h a f t
and f i x e d on t h e rep lacement p a r t o n l y w i t h g r e a t d i f f i c u l t y .
About 1840, American power t r a n s m i s s i o n sys tems were improved
a g a i n by t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n o f t h e Engl i sh p l a n o f s u b s t i t u t i n g
m a l l e a b l e wrought-iron s h a f t i n g f o r i t s b r i t t l e c a s t - i r o n c o u n t e r p a r t .
Improved methods f o r f a s t e n i n g p u l l e y s and g e a r s t o s h a f t s and f o r
connec t ing one s h a f t t o a n o t h e r were adopted s i m u l t a n e o u s l y . C a s t
i r o n power t ramsmiss ion equipment, which was wide ly used u n t i l t h a t
d a t e , d i s a p p e a r e d o v e r n i g h t . Today, o n l y f ragments o f t h e o l d c a s t
i r o n sys tems can be found. The G i l l e t t e G r i s t M i l l p r o v i d e s t h e
o p p o r t u n i t y t o observe a complete c a s t i r o n power t r a n s m i s s i o n sys tem.
We can s t u d y t h e d e t a i l s o f t h e c a s t i n g and machining o p e r z t i o n s used
t o manufacture t h e s h a f t i n g , t h e way i n which connec t ing s h a f t s were
coupled t o g e t h e r , and t h e b e a r i n g s employed t o s u p p o r t t h e equipment.
T h i s a r t i f a c t - s y s t e m p r e s e r v e s a weal th o f t e c h n o l o g i c a l i n f o r m a t i o n
u n a v a i l a b l e e l sewhere . P u b l i c r e c o r d s s i m i l a r t o t h o s e c i t e d f o r t h e
Phoenix M i l l c a n t h e n be u t i l i z e d t o p l a c e t h e f f r i s t m i l l i n i t s
economic and s o c i o l o g i c a l s e t t i n g .
As Hawkes and Wainwright have s u ~ g e s t e d , a r t i f a c t s a r e c a p a b l e
o f supplyng economic i n f o r m a t i o n , b u t t h a t i s n o t t h e c a s e i n t h e
"mission example o f t h e e a r l y t u r n i n g l a t h e o r t h e c a s t i r o n power Irani .
system. L i t t l e documentation is a v a i l a b l e t o i n t e r p r ' e t and e x p l a i n
mechanical equipment found i n t h e Phoenix M i l l o r t h e G i l l e t t e G r i s t
M i l l b u t , a s d e s c r i b e d above, a r t i f a c t s can supply t h a t s o r t o f
t e c h n o l o g i c a l i n f o r m a t i o n d i r e c t l y t o t a k e u s beyond t h e p o i n t where
t h e w r i t t e n r e c o r d ends . Economic i n f o r m a t i o n , on t h e o t h e r hand , was
a v a i l a b l e i n w r i t t e n form f o r bo th m i l l s b u t c o u l d n o t be recovered
from t h e a r t i f a c t s . P r e s e n t l y , n o t enough i s known about t h e
l o c a t i o n , m a t e r i a l s , and chronology o f comparable p h y s i c a l o b j e c t s t o
a l l o w i n f e r e n c e s about t h e economics o f t h e a r t i f a c t s d i s c u s s e d i n t h e
preceding pages t o be drawn from t h e p h y s i c a l r e c o r d .
I n d u s t r i a l a r c h e o l o g i s t s f a c e s i m i l a r problems on both s i d e s o f
t h e h i s t o r i c a l c o i n . To d a t e , very l i t t l e is known about t h e a c t u a l
a r t i f a c t s o f e a r l y i n d u s t r y and how t h e y evolved and d i f f u s e d w i t h
t ime . Typologies e x i s t f o r t h e p o t s h e r d s and p ipe s tems of t h e
h i s t o r i c a l a r c h e o l o g i s t , bu t n o t f o r t h e n u t s and b o l t s , g e a r s and
b e a r i n g s o f t h e i n d u s t r i a l a r c h e o l o g i s t . Also , American h i s t o r i a n s
have not involved themselves i n t h e s o r t o f l o c a l h i s t o r y s t u d i e s t h a t
a r e u s e f u l t o i n t e r p r e t i n g i n d u s t r i a l s i t e s . They do n o t have t h e
compara t ive i n f o r m a t i o n needed t o make s e n s e o f t h e a r c h e o l o g i c a l o r
h i s t o r i c a l ev idence f o r i n d u s t r i a l a rcheology; l a c k i n g is a s e n s e o f
c o n t e x t and p a t t e r n i n what is observed . A s e n s e o f c o n t e x t and
p a t t e r n w i l l improve, however, a s more d e s c r i p t i v e s t u d i e s o f
machines, s i t e s , and o t h e r a r t i f a c t s a r e under taken and completed
Context and p a t t e r n a r e e s s e n t i a l c o n c e p t s f o r bo th t h e
a r c h e o l o g i s t and h i s t o r i a n . Context s i g n i f i e s t h e concern f o r t h e
r e l a t i o n o f a b i t o f i n f o r m a t i o n t o o t h e r a d j a c e n t b i t s o f i n f o r m a t i o n
t h a t a r e n o t n e c e s s a r i l y s i m i l a r , b u t i n c l o s e p r o x i m i t y t o each
o t h e r . P a t t e r n s i g n i f i e s t h e concern f o r t h e r e l a t i o n o f a b i t o f
i n f o r m a t i o n t o o t h e r s i m i l a r b i t s o f i n f o r m a t i o n t h a t a r e n o t
n e c e s s a r i l y i n c l o s e p r o x i m i t y t o each o t h e r . H i s t o r i a n s u s u a l l y
e x p e r i e n c e d i f f i c u l t y w i t h m a t e r i a l ev idence f o r t h e same r e a s o n t h a t
a r c h e o l o g i s t s have t r o u b l e wi th h i s t o r i c a l e v i d e n c e : each a s k s
q u e s t i o n s of t h e u n f a m i l i a r ev idence t h a t i t cannot answer p r o p e r l y .
H i s t o r i a n s a r e v i t a l l y aware o f t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p o f documentary
ev idence t o c o n t e x t and p a t t e r n b u t do n o t h e s i t a t e t o l i f t a r t i f a c t s
o u t of c o n t e x t o r d i s r e g a r d p a t t e r n i n t h e a r t i f a c t u a l r e c o r d .
A r c h e o l o g i s t s , on t h e o t h e r hand , r e c o g n i z e t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p o f
a r t i f a c t u a l ev idence t o c o n t e x t and p a t t e r n b u t a r e q u i c k t o remove
w r i t t e n ev idence from o o n t e x t o r d i s r e g a r d p a t t e r n i n t h e d o c u m e n t ~ r y
r e c o r d . Our t a s k , a s i n d u s t r i a l a r c h e o l o ~ i s t s , i s t o i n t e r p r e t t h e
m a t e r i a l c u l t u r e o f i n d u s t r i a l l i f e and a c t i v i t y t o l e a r n e v e r y t h i n g
we c a n about t h e human behavior embodied i n t h o s e remains . We must
s t r u g g l e t o unders tand what can and cannot. be l e a r n e d from documentary
and p h y s i c a l e v i d e n c e and s e a r c h f o r ways t o maximize o u r k n o w l e d ~ e of
p a s t i n d u s t r y t h r o u ~ h t h e i n t e g r a t i o n o f h i s t o r i c a l and a r c h e o l o g i c a l
i n f o r m a t i o n .
FOOTNOTES
1 . Brooke Hindle , "How Much i s a P i e c e o f True Cross Worth," i n
M a t e r i a l C u l t u r e and t h e S tudy of American L i f e , ed . I a n M . G . Quimby
(New York: W . W . Norton, f o r t h c o m i n g ) .
2. Webster 's New I n t e r n a t i o n a l D i c t i o n a r y o f t h e E n g l i s h
Language, 2d. e d . , unabr idged , S.V. "a rchaeology ."
3. D.P. Dymond, Archaeology and H i s t o r y , a P l e a f o r
R e c o n c i l i a t i o n (London: Thames and Hudson, 1974) , p. 43.
4 . C h r i s t o p h e r Hawkes, "Archeologica l Theory and Method, Some
S u g g e s t i o n s from t h e Old World." American A n t h r o p o l o g i s t 56 (1954) :
155-68; F.T. Wainwright, A r c h a e o l o m and Placenames and H i s t o r y , a n
Essay on Problems of C o o r d i n a t i o n (London: Rutledge and Kegan P a u l ,
1962) .
4 T H R E E D I M E N S I O N S R E D U C E D T O T W O :
U S I N G M E A S U R E D D R A W I N G S A S A M E A N S T O R E C O R D I A S I T E S
L a r r y D. Lankton
H i s t o r i c American Engineer ing Record
Washington, D.C.
There is no s e t fo rmula t o f o l l o w when producing measured s i t e maps, p l a n s , e l e v a t i o n s , s e c t i o n s , and d e t a i l s . And i t is t o o
drawings o f i n d u s t r i a l a r c h e o l o g i c a l s i t e s , nor should t h e r e be.* The complex t o be reduced t o t h e sophomoric t e n e t t h a t you "draw i t a s i t
r e c o r d i n g p r o c e s s is t o o complex t o be reduced t o a l i s t o f r e q u i s i t e e x i s t s . " D i f f e r e n t i n d u s t r i a l o r s t r u c t u r a l t y p e s demand d i f f e r e n t
t r e a t m e n t s , and even s t r u c t u r e s o f t h e same t y p e o f t e n r e q u i r e
i n d i v i d u a l i z e d a t t e n t i o n . S u r e l y two locomot ive e r e c t i n g shops should
n o t be drawn i n t h e same f a s h i o n , i f one is i n r u i n s , w h i l e t h e o t h e r
is i n t a c t and f i l l e d wi th o r i g i n a l machinery.
Although a r e c o r d i n g team cannot be s e n t o u t i n t o t h e f i e l d
wi th a s e t formula t o f o l l o w , i t can be provided wi th a n o v e r - r i d i n g
r a t i o n a l e f o r i ts work and wi th a c e r t a i n modus operand!. Armed w i t h
t h e s e , and wi th t h e i r own g r a p h i c , d e t e c t i v e , and r e s e a r c h s k i l l s ,
team members should produce drawings t h a t a r e i n f o r m a t i v e , a c c u r a t e ,
and u s e f u l .
R a t i o n a l i z i n g t h e r e c o r d i n g p r o c e s s can be compared wi th t h e
a c q u i s i t i o n and p r e s e r v a t i o n o f t e c h n o l o g i c a l a r t i f a c t s a s p r a c t i c e d
by b e t t e r museums. Above a l l e l s e , a n a r t i f a c t is s e e n a s a
th ree-d imens iona l d a t a s o u r c e t h a t informs o f t h e c u l t u r e t h a t made i t
and used i t . T h i s i n f o r m a t i o n may be very d i v e r s e . A r t i f a c t s c o n t a i n
ev idence o f c u l t u r a l s t y l e s and t a s t e s , o f t h e a v a i l a b i l i t y o f
m a t e r i a l s , of manufac tur ing methods, o f a c a u i r e d s c i e n t i f i c and
t e c h n i c a l knowledge, and o f t h e ways o f o r g a n i z i n g and doing work.
Because t h e a r t i f a c t c o n t a i n s t h i s i n f o r m a t i o n , i t i s v a l u a b l e a s a
document o f p a s t human b e h a v i o r , s o i t is a c q u i r e d , p r e s e r v e d , and
made a c c e s s i b l e t o t h e g e n e r a l p u b l i c and t o s c h o l a r s .
I A s i t e s a l s o c o n t a i n d i v e r s e c u l t u r a l in format ion and a r e
t h e r e f o r e v a l u a b l e a s documents. But t h e s e s i t e s and t h e i r a t t e n d a n t
s t r u c t u r e s a r e g e n e r a l l y f i x e d and immovable. I f t h e y a r e moved, i t
is u s u a l l y n o t by t h e hands o f a s o l i c i t o u s c u r a t o r , b u t by a wrecking
b a l l . A few I A s i t e s w i l l be p h y s i c a l l y preserved a s museums unto
themselves , and a number w i l l be "preserved" th rough a d a p t i v e
r e u s e . 1 But t h e v a s t m a j o r i t y o f i n d u s t r i a l and e n g i n e e r i n g
s t r u c t u r e s w i l l u l t i m a t e l y come down, and l i k e Humpty-Dumpty, t h e y
w i l l never t o be put back t o g e t h e r a g a i n .
S i n c e t h e t y p i c a l I A s i t e cannot be sh ipped o f f t o t h e
Smi thsonian , t h e Henry Ford Museum, o r t o Old S t u r b r i d g e V i l l a g e , i t
i s impor tan t t o r e c o r d i t ~ r a p h i c a l l y . The r e c o r d i n g of an i n d u s t r i a l
s i t e c a n be seen a s t h e f u n c t i o n a l e q u i v a l e n t of p h y s i c a l l y removing
an a r t i f a c t from t h e c u l t u r e a t l a r g e and s h e l t e r i n g it i n a p r o t e c t e d
p l a c e , where i t is t o be k e p t i n p e r p e t u i t y . Drawings, l i k e a r t i f a c t s
i n a museum, s t o r e i n f o r m a t i o n . That is a d r a w i n g ' s primary
function--TO STORE INFORMATION.
I n a s e n s e , a drawing h a s two advantages o v e r t h e r e a l t h i n g i t
r e p r e s e n t s . The s i t e - i t s e l f o f t e n s t a n d s l i k e t h e door t o t h e
r o b b e r s ' cave i n Arabian Nights . It does n o t open t o j u s t anybody.
The magic words must be known. Unless i n v e s t i g a t o r s have t h e
e x p e r i e n c e and e x p e r t i s e t o a s k i t t h e r i g h t q u e s t i o n s , it p r o v i d e s
t o o few answers. The abandoned f a c t o r y complex does no t b r o a d c a s t t h e
f u n c t i o n s o f i ts v a r i o u s b u i l d i n g s and t h e i r many compartments; i t
does n o t d e c l a r e t h a t t h e steam engine was added i n 1885; o r t h a t a
v e r t i c a l b o r i n g m i l l once s t o o d on a p a r t i c u l a r c o n c r e t e pad; o r t h a t
workpieces were f i n i s h e d a s t h e y moved up t h e b u i l d i n g , r a t h e r t h a n
down.
The I A s i t e - - p e r h a p s s h u t down, perhaps i n r u i n s , o r perhaps
t o o compl ica ted f o r t h e a v e r a g e viewer--may h i d e o r camouflage a l l
k i n d s o f i n f o r m a t i o n . Through c a r e f u l , p robing r e s e a r c h on t h e Dart
o f a r e c o r d i n g team, t h i s i n f o r m a t i o n can he r e t r i v e d and brought
forward. Drawings--with j u d i c i o u s l y s e l e c t e d v iews , n o t e s , symbols,
keys , f low c h a r t s , and t h e l ike- -can o f t e n impar t in format ion more
r e a d i l y t h a n t h e s i t e i t s e l f . So a n o t h e r f u n c t i o n of measured
drawings--besides s t o r i n g informat ion- - i s t o make a s i t e o r s t r u c t u r e
more u n d e r s t a n d a b l e : THE DRAWINGS ARE INTERPRETIVE TOOLS.
The second advantage t h a t drawings have o v e r t h e r e a l t h i n g is
t h e i r r e p r o d u c i b i l i t y . They c a n be copied and e a s i l y t r a n s p o r t e d t o
anyone who h a s any i n t e r e s t i n them. T h i s advantage is o f t e n
over looked , o r even d i s p a r a g e d . Some people s e e no r e a s o n , f o r
example, t o g r a p h i c a l l y r e c o r d a n I A s i t e t h a t h a s been s t a b l i z e d ,
r e s t o r e d , o r t u r n e d i n t o a museum. But t h e f a c t remains t h a t t h e
s i t e , i n a l l i ts g l o r y , s t a y s put and is t h e r e f o r e i n a c c e s s i b l e t o
most because o f c o n s i d e r a t i o n s o f t i m e , money, and d i s t a n c e . Drawings
can s p r e a d knowledge o f a s i t e f u r t h e r and f a s t e r t h a n t h e p r a c t i c e o f
v i s i t a t i o n . Also, t h e s i t e t h a t a p p e a r s s o w e l l p r o t e c t e d today c o u l d
be gone tomorrow. P r e s e n t p r o t e c t i o n is no g u a r a n t e e o f long-term
s u r v i v a l .
Having recognized two a d v a n t a g e s of measured drawings , t h e i r
l i m i t a t i o n s must be d i s c u s s e d v i s - a - v i s t h e r e a l t h i n g , photographs ,
and t h e w r i t t e n word.
The r e a l t h i n g can be a v e r i t a b l e t r e a s u r e t r o v e o f
i n f o r m a t i o n , c o n t a i n i n g a n i n f i n i t e amount of d a t a . It c a n be
r e v i s i t e d a g a i n and a g a i n , each t i m e t o i n v e s t i g a t e a new t u r n o r
t w i s t . Both major and minor q u e s t i o n s can be asked o f i t , and i f
s k i l l e d enough i n h i s t o r i c a l r e s e a r c h and i n r e a d i n g m a t e r i a l c u l t u r e ,
i n v e s t i g a t o r s can g e t t h e answers .
The f i r s t t r i p th rough a n i n t a c t 19 th c e n t u r y machine shop
might be t o examine i t s s t r u c t u r a l components--the b r i c k masonry, t h e
wooden-block f l o o r , t h e t r u s s e d r o o f , t h e windows, and t h e c l e r e s t o r y
moni tor . The n e x t v i s i t might be t o s t u d y a l l t h e machine t o o l s and
t h e way i n which t h e y were d r i v e n . On subsequent t r i p s , t h e t o o l room
might be e x p l o r e d t o d i s c o v e r how c u t t e r s and gages were s t o r e d t o
p r o t e c t sharpened edges o r p r e c i s i o n s u r f a c e s . Yellowed s h e e t s show
how each m a c h i n i s t s i g n e d o u t f o r t h e t o o l s he used . L a t e r , t h e
l a t h e s might be compared t o s e e i f t h e c a r r i a g e s were gibbed o r
counterweighted t o prevent t o o l c h a t t e r . Kick ing o v e r a n o l d can
whose bottom is caked w i t h t h e r e s i d u e o f a n evapora ted m i x t u r e of
s p i t and tobacco j u i c e could r e v e a l t h a t a t l e a s t one m a c h i n i s t was
f a s t i d i o u s ; he d i d n ' t f o u l t h e f l o o r .
The shop h a s a f e e l i n g o f s p a c e . It h a s t e x t u r e , c o l o r , h e a t ,
l i g h t , o d o r s , and sounds. I t c o n t a i n s thousands of a r t i f a c t s , r a n g i n g
from d r a w e r s f u l o f t a p s , d i e s , n u t s , and b o l t s t o l a r g e machine t o o l s
and a steam e n g i n e . These a r t i f a c t s , t a k e n t o g e t h e r wi th t h e
s t r u c t u r e i t s e l f , compose t h e s h o p ' s " v i s i b l e " h i s t o r y ~ a n d i t is
i m p o s s i b l e f o r drawings t o c a p t u r e a l l t h a t h i s t o r y . For example, i n
t h e c o r n e r o f a t o o l c r i b s t a n d s a c a b i n e t t h a t s t o r e s measuring and
g a g i n g t o o l s . Wi th in i t a r e micrometers o f vary ing s i z e ; i n s i d e ,
o u t s i d e , and v e r n i e r c a l i p e r s ; r i n g , p l u g , l i m i t , and t h r e a d gages ;
and s t e e l r u l e s . The c a b i n e t h a s i t s own h i s t o r y , and s o does each
t o o l i n s i d e i t . These a r t i f a c t s a r e impor tan t r e s o u r c e s f o r s tudyina : ,
i f you w i l l , "machine shop c u l t u r e . " Y e t , a f l o o r p l a n o f t h e shop
s imply cannot cope w i t h t h e c o m p l e x i t i e s o f t h i s wel l - s tocked ,
impor tan t c a b i n e t . On t h e p l a n , i t becomes, o f n e c e s s i t y , a mere
r e c t a n g l e , perhaps a h a l f - i n c h long and q u a r t e r - i n c h wide, l a b e l l e d
' T o o l Cabine t . " The r e a l t h i n g , i n t h i s i n s t a n c e , is i n f i n i t e l y
s u p e r i o r t o its g r a p h i c r e p r e s e n t a t i o n .
To c o m p l i c a t e m a t t e r s , t h e r e is a n e n t i r e " i n v i s i b l e " h i s t o r y
o f t h e m i l l , one t h a t cannot be p e r c e i v e d d i r e c t l y by a v i s i t o r .
There a r e g h o s t s . Numerous h i s t o r i c a l agents - -people , machines, and
t o o l s - - a r e no l o n g e r t h e r e . They have l o n g s i n c e v a n i s h e d , and t h e y
cannot be r e s u r r e c t e d s o l e l y by s t u d y i n g t h e s h o p ' s p h y s i c a l remains .
The b o i l e r room shows ev idence of having been a l t e r e d c o n s i d e r a b l y ,
b u t i t does n o t t e l l why. It does n o t t e l l t h a t t h e a l t e r a t i o n s
fo l lowed a b o i l e r e x p l o s i o n i n 1873 t h a t k i l l e d two men. Many
h i s t o r i c a l and economic q u e s t i o n s t h a t t h e i n d u s t r i a l a r c h e o l o g i s t
should a s k o f t h i s shop s imply cannot be answered by u s i n g m a t e r i a l
Figure 1. (top) Gosport (Indiana) Station exemplifies the "train barn" style of rai lroad architecture; one s e t of t racks passes through the station. Such a feature i s bes t shown on a floor plan or perhaps a longitudinal section--either drawing would show m o r e than could be captured with a camera. These elevations, however, a r e largely superfluous, because they s tore fa r & information than do photo- graphs of the four s ides of the station. For example, can you readily identify the various building mater ia l s 7 Can you find the wall anchors? Can you tel l if the s t ruc ture was built in a slip-shod manner o r well- constructed? This sheet also typifies the strong aversion that many architects have towards "violating" elevations with any notes o r keys. They like their elevations a s prist ine a s possible. Consequently, elevations of historic engineering and industr ial s t ruc tures too often r a i s e fa r m o r e questions than they answer.
Figure 2. (above) This view i l lustrates the use of speculative drawings to "reconstruct" or "uncover" historic technology. As shown h e r e , the buried anchorage of the Delaware Aqueduct was "uncovered" by historical r e s e a r c h and a del ineator 's skill. The drawing makes heavy use of documentary information, permitting materials , dimensions and proper nomenclature to be shown.
Figure 3. ( r ight) Obviously a skilled and delicate hand created this drawing of an 1861 West Point Foundry beam engine located in Puerto Rico. Here the delineator success - fully combined "art" and "information. " Still, the delineator (an a rch i tec t ) could have improved his drawing if he had been m o r e famil iar with machinery and the con- ventions of engineering (as opposed to architectural) drafting. By drawing only an "elevation" of the engine's "facade, " h e failed to take full advantage of the "magic" that drawings can perform. He could have shown us, for example, c r o s s sections of the beam, flywheel r i m , and spokes. He could have broken away par t of the front of the engine bed to show us internal construction and piping. And--if h e had had the hear t to do so--he could have broken away the left side of the elaborate Gothic f rame to expose the paral lel motion, s t e a m chest, and valves. Finally-- and this i s definitely a stylistic mat te r - -he could have decided that a large, cast- iron engine called for heavier lines and a bolder approach. The drawing i s light and airy. The engine mos t definitely i s not.
F igures 4 and 5. Working in cramped q u a r t e r s in the dome of the Salt Lake City Tabernacle, a photographer cannot capture enough of the roof t russing to show the viewer how i t rea l ly looks o r works. For an overal l view, a drawing i s a n absolute must. Still, the photo- graph complements the drawing showing us details. Note the c i rcu la r -saw m a r k s , the mortise-and-tenon construction, the iron fas teners , and the rawhide wrapped around spli t t r u s s members .
Figure 6. Plans, elevations, and sections of the Coggins Gold Mill simply cannot communicate, in a concise and readily understandable way, the processes car r ied out a t this site. To record work (as opposed to design and construction), it oftenis necessary to re jec t stand- a r d a rch i tec tura l drawings in favor of interpret ive flow char t s . This flow char t i s part icularly good, because while documenting pro- c e s s e s , i t a lso succeeds in giving the u s e r some idea of shapes, s izes and spatial relationships.
Figure 7. (left) This drawing per forms "double magic. " F i r s t , based on documentary and ~ h y s i c a l evidence, it reconstructs the missing undershot wheel and i t s pit wheel. Second, it peels away b a r r i e r s (both f loors and wa1ls)to al lowus to see a t r a i n of machinery and motion. Photographs of this mi l l could only show disconnected bits and pieces of the power and milling system.
Figure 8. (below) The Appomattox Iron Works could pass for the "hypothetical machine shop" discussed in the text. There i s no way for drawings to capture a l l that can be seen in the shop. This view admirably i l lustrates the "inclusive" nature of photography. The purpose of this photograph was to record the horizontal milling machine and the d r i l l p r e s s in the foreground. But these machines could not be isolated. They were captured on f i lm in the context of a l l the mater ia l cul ture that surrounded them.
All drawings and photographs on these two pages a r e f r o m Historic American Engineering Record recording projects .
c u l t u r e . They c a n be answered o n l y by r e s e a r c h i n g o t h e r d a t a s o u r c e s ,
such a s t h e w r i t t e n r e c o r d . The shop i t s e l f w i l l n o t t e l l who worked
t h e r e , and whether t h e y were c o n t e n t , w e l l - p a i d , and w e l l - f e d , o r
whether t h e y were r e b e l l i o u s , e x p l o i t e d , and hungry. T h i s t y p e of
h i s t o r i c a l i n f o r m a t i o n ~ t h a t cannot be g o t t e n from t h e s i t e
i t s e l f ~ c e r t a i n l y cannot be s t o r e d by any l i n e drawings r e p r e s e n t a t i v e
of t h e s i t e .
Drawings t a k e c o n s i d e r a b l e t ime and money t o produce.
Consequently, i t is r a r e f o r a s i n g l e s t r u c t u r e t o be documented by
more t h a n 10 s h e e t s of drawings. But how, i n 10 s h e e t s o r l e s s , can
you b e s t c o v e r t h e c o m p l e x i t i e s o f a s t r u c t u r e such a s o u r
h y p o t h e t i c a l machine shop? It is b e s t t o d i s p e n s e wi th t h e idea o f
s imply "drawing w h a t ' s t h e r e . " Due t o n e c e s s i t y , and o f t e n due t o
c h i o c e , a g r e a t d e a l w i l l have t o be l e f t o u t . The drawings , a s
i l l u s t r a t e d by t h e c a s e of t h e t o o l c a b i n e t , w i l l c a p t u r e
e v e r y t h i n g . The g r a p h i c r e c o r d must be f l e s h e d o u t wi th photoarahs ,
and t h i s g r a p h i c r e c o r d must a l s o be supplemented by a s t r o n g w r i t t e n
r e p o r t .
Photographs--both h i s t o r i c and modern--have s e v e r a l advantages
o v e r drawings. For members of o u r modern "Kodak c u l t u r e , " who a r e
more f a m i l i a r wi th cameras t h a n wi th d r a f t i n g t o o l s , photographs a r e
g e n e r a l l y much e a s i e r t o r e a d and unders tand . Photographs o f t e n
convey a s e n s e of human-scaled space b e t t e r t h a n dimensioned f l o o r
p l a n s , and they w i l l c e r t a i n l y c a p t u r e t e x t u r e s and m a t e r i a l s b e t t e r
t h a n any l i n e drawings. Photographs a r e much l e s s expens ive t o
produce, s o t h e y a r e u s u a l l y t h e b e s t way o f documenting numerous
a r c h i t e c t u r a l o r mechanical d e t a i l s . Also, photographs a r e more
comprehensive, more i n c l u s i v e . A d e l i n e a t o r s t a r t s w i t h a b lank
s h e e t , and t h e f i n i s h e d drawing s t o r e s o n l y t h e d a t a c o n s c i o u s l y inked
o n t o i t . The photographer , on t h e o t h e r hand , s h o o t i n g t h e i n t e r i o r
o r e x t e r i o r of a s t r u c t u r e , may f o c u s on a p a r t i c u l a r f e a t u r e , bu t
more o f t e n t h a n n o t , t h e f i l m w i l l a l s o c a p t u r e t h e images o f
sur rounding f e a t u r e s and background d e t a i l s . A photograph , i n s h o r t ,
may show u s more t h a n i ts o r i g i n a t o r i n t e n d e d , w h i l e a drawing seldom
does .
Photographs , t o o , have t h e i r l i m i t a t i o n s . I t i s t h e camera,
more t h a n t h e drawing , t h a t r e c o r d s a s i t e , f o r b e t t e r o r f o r worse,
' a s i t i s . " The photographer is s tymied by t h e underbrush , t r e e s , and
w a l l s t h a t b lock t h e i r l i n e o f s i g h t . No f i l t e r can make a l l
o b s t r u c t i o n s d i s a p p e a r . No photographer can u s e t h e i r camera t o t a k e
a machine o r s t r u c t u r e a p a r t . Nor can t h e y u s e i t t o put. t o g e t h e r
p i e c e s o f a machine o r s t r u c t u r e t h a t were s e p a r a t e d long ago , and
which a r e found a t a s i t e i n a jumbled p i l e .
Drawings, i n c o n t r a s t t o more r e a l i t y - b o u n d photographs , can
perform magic. That i s t h e i r s t r e n g t h , and i t must be e x p l o i t ~ d more
and more. D e l i n e a t o r s a r e t i e d t o t h e p h y s i c a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f a
s i t e , and a r e n o t a l lowed t o f a n t a s i z e . Yet t h e y can c r e a t i v e l y warp
r e a l i t y . They can make a w a l l d i s a p p e a r t o show u s what is behind i t ;
c u t any s t r u c t u r e i n h a l f , h o r i z o n t a l l y o r v e r t i c a l l y ; explode an
assembly , t o show u s impor tan t p i e c e s ; t a k e t h e p a r t s o f a demolished
o r d i sassembled mechanism and r e c o n s t r u c t i t a s a whole; t a k e a
complex manufac tur ing p r o c e s s and i t s a t t e n d a n t machinery, and reduce
it t o a r e a d i l y u n d e r s t a n d a b l e f low c h a r t ; and when conf ronted by
b a r r i e r s t h a t b lock a c c e s s s t o t h e i n t e r n a l p a r t s o f a machine, t h e y
can n e v e r t h e l e s s r e p r e s e n t t h o s e p a r t s and t h e i r motions
s c h e m a t i c a l l y .
But i n a r e a l s e n s e , t h e s u c c e s s o f t h e drawings meant t o
r e p r e s e n t a th ree-d imens iona l s i t e i s de te rmined long b e f o r e any i n k
h i t s mylar . It is determined even b e f o r e t h e r e c o r d i n g team p u l l s o u t
i ts 100-foot t a p e and b e g i n s t a k i n g f i e l d measurements. Before t h e
t a p e and f i e l d no tebooks a r e brought o u t , t h e d e l i n e a t o r s and
h i s t o r i c a l r e s e a r c h e r s should go o v e r t h e s i t e o r s t r u c t u r e c a r e f u l l y ,
100kitIg i n t o a l l i ts nooks and c r a n n i e s . They have t o be i n q u i s i t i v e
and adventuresome. They have t o a s k a u e s t i o n s o f e v e r y t h i n g t h e y s e e .
They must r e a d t h e s i t e ; i d e n t i f y a r t i f a c t s and s t r u c t u r a l p a r t s ;
f o l l o w p r o c e s s e s ; and be c o g n i z a n t o f changes t h a t may have o c c u r r e d
o v e r t ime . When c o n f r o n t e d by a puzzle--something t h e y do n o t
unders tand a t f i r s t - - t h e y have t o meet it head on. Only i n t h i s
manner c a n t h e y t r u l y come t o unders tand a s i t e . And o n l y i f t h e y
unders tand a s i t e , c a n t h e y draw i t p r o p e r l y .
Once a r e c o r d i n g team h a s done its o n - s i t e homework, and once
t h e r e s e a r c h e r s have s h a r e d t h e i r e x p e r t i s e and t h e f r u i t s o f t h e i r
i n v e s t i g a t i o n s i n t o o t h e r d a t a s o u r c e s , t h e n t h e team is ready t o
d e c i d e what i s t r u l y impor tan t a b o u t t h e s i t e - - what i n f o r m a t i o n
should be s t o r e d , i n t e r p r e t e d , and a n a l y z e d . Once t h i s judgement i s
made, t h e n t h e team can d e c i d e what a s p e c t s o f t h e s i t e should be
t r e a t e d i n t h e h i s t o r i c a l monograph; what p a r t s s h o u l d be recorded
p h o t o g r a p h i c a l l y ; and what p a r t s and p r o c e s s e s would be b e s t
i l l u s t r a t e d by drawings .
I f t h e s i t e o r s t r u c t u r e t r u l y m e r i t s i t , and i f t i m e and money
a r e a v a i l a b l e f o r i t , t h e n a r e c o r d i n g team may d e c i d e t o do a f u l l
s e t o f d rawings . Such a s e t might i n c l u d e : a s i t e l o c a t i o n map; a
s i t e p l a n ; f l o o r p l a n s ; e l e v a t i o n s ; l o n g i t u d i n a l and t r a n s v e r s e
s e c t i o n s ; d e t a i l s ; i s o m e t r i c s ; p r o c e s s and f low c h a r t s ; and
s c h e m a t i c s . I n many c a s e s , however, t h e i d e a o f do ing such a
comprehensive " s e t " o f d rawings should be d i s p e n s e d w i t h , i n l i e u o f
choos ing j u s t t h o s e i n d i v i d u a l d rawings t h a t a r e deemed most u s e f u l .
I n d u s t r i a l a rcheology is n o t j u s t t h e a r c h i t e c t u r a l h i s t o r y of
i n d u s t r i a l b u i l d i n g s . It goes beyond t h a t . The i n d u s t r i a l
a r c h e o l o g i s t may be i n t e r e s t e d i n a s t r u c t u r e whose a r c h i t e c t , u r e o r
b u i l d i n g technology i s l i t e r a l l y " run-of - the-mi l l . " They may be
i n t e r e s t e d o n l y i n t h e p e o p l e , machines, t o o l s , and p r o c e s s e s t h a t
o p e r a t e d w i t h i n t h e s t r u c t u r e . I n such a c a s e , i t would be
e x t r a v a g a n t t o r e c o r d t h e s t r u c t u r e ' s a r c h i t e c t u r e wi th numerous
drawings , when f a r l e s s expens ive photographs would s e r v e j u s t a s w e l l
t o document f a c a d e s and t h e l i k e .
When a f i e l d team h a s dec ided upon t h o s e views t h a t w i l l b e s t
show t h e s i t e - - o n t h o s e views t h a t w i l l c o n t r i b u t e t h e most t o o u r
knowledge and u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t ,he s i t e - - m t h e y c a n p u l l o u t t h e
100-foot t a p e and b e g i n t a k i n g f i e l d measurements and n o t e s .
Adherence t o t h i s regimen w i l l n e v e r g u a r a n t e e s u c c e s s , b u t i t w i l l
h e l p minimize f a i l u r e and d isappoin tment . The drawings produced by
t h e most s k i l l e d and exper ienced f i e l d teams w i l l never show
e v e r y t h i n g t o be s e e n a t t h e s i t e i t s e l f . But t h e y should show, i n a
c l e a r and bold way, what t h e f i e l d team members, i n t i m a t e wi th t h e
s i t e , deemed i t s most s i g n i f i c a n t f e a t u r e s .
FOOTNOTES
* E d i t o r ' s Note: While Lankton ' s paper was prepared f o r t h e
Symposium, u n f o r t u n a t e l y he was unable t o a t t e n d t o t a k e p a r t i n t h e
d i s c u s s i o n s . See p a p e r s by Newell , Brown, Penn, and Packard f o r a
d i f f e r e n t view o f t h e need t o f o r m u l a t e q u e s t i o n s t o a s k o f p h y s i c a l
remains , and t h e u s e o f i n f e r e n c e i n i n t e r p r e t i n g p h y s i c a l d a t a .
1 . Adaptive r e u s e i s a n a i d t o p r e s e r v i n g a b u i l t environment
t h a t is v i s u a l l y d i v e r s e , and i t may w e l l s e r v e a s an economic
s t i m u l u s t o a community. But i t is f a r l e s s s u c c e s s f u l i n te rms of
p r e s e r v i n g t,he c u l t u r a l ev idence t o be found a t any I A s i t e . The
bout ique- laden roundhouse and t h e t r a i n s t a t i o n - r e s t a u r a n t a r e
uncomfor tab ly r e m i n i s c e n t o f t h e s u r v e y o r ' s t r a n s i t and duck decoy
t h a t have become t h e b a s e s o f lamps i n someone's l i v i n g room.
5 I N D I R E C T M E T H O D S I N I N D U S T R I A L A R C H E O L O G Y
J e f f r e y L. Brown
I n s t i t u t e o f Archaeology
U n i v e r s i t y o f Tennessee a t Chattanooga
The fundamental argument of a r c h e o l o g i c a l method is i n f e r e n c e . a r c h e o l o g i c a l d a t a . I n d i r e c t methods do n o t s imply a t t e m p t t o i n f e r
I n i n f e r e n t i a l arguments, c o n c l u s i o n s about non-observable p a s t behavior d i r e c t l y from m a t e r i a l r e m a i n s , b u t i n s t e a d seek t o
behavior a r e deduced from o b s e r v a b l e a r c h e o l o g i c a l remains . The unders tand p a s t behavior i n d i r e c t l y th rough comparison of
argument may be o u t l i n e d a s fo l lows: a r c h e o l o g i c a l and h i s t o r i c d a t a . These methods assume t h a t t h e
I f X is present., t h e n Y is (was) p r e s e n t . h i s t o r i c a l documentation o f p a s t e v e n t s is incomple te and o f t e n X i s p r e s e n t . Y is (was) p r e s e n t . r e f l e c t s i d e a l p a t t e r n s of behavior r a t h e r t h a n r e a l e v e n t s . As
I n p r e h i s t o r i c a rcheology t h i s argument may appear a s f o l l o w s : a r c h e o l o g i c a l remains p r o v i d e p h y s i c a l e v i d e n c e o f a c t u a l p a s t e v e n t s ,
I f arrowheads a r e p r e s e n t i n s i t e X , t h e n a r c h e o l o g i c a l d a t a can be used t o d i s c o v e r i n c o n s i s t e n c i e s between h u n t i n g was p r e s e n t . Arrowheads a r e p r e s e n t . b e h a v i o r a l r e a l i t i e s and documented i d e a l i z a t i o n s . Once t h e s e Hunting occured a t s i t e X .
i n c o n s i s t e n c i e s have been d i s c o v e r e d , a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l models c a n be The r e l a t i o n s h i p between arrowheads and h u n t i n g i s w e l l e s t a b l i s h e d i n
o f f e r e d a s e x p l a n a t i o n . 3 e t h n o g r a p h i c l i t e r a t u r e , and a s a n ana logy i t forms t h e assumpt ion
upon which f u r t h e r argument is based . The c o n c l u s i o n t h a t h u n t i n g A s i m p l e , r e a d i l y a v a i l a b l e s u b j e c t f o r i n d i r e c t a r c h e o l o g i c a l
o c c u r s a t s i t e X p e r m i t s p r e h i s t o r i a n s t o compare and c o n t r a s t s i t e X s t u d y i s t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p between i d e a l b u i l d i n g c o n s t r u c t i o n
wi th o t h e r s i t e s i n o r d e r t o e s t a b l i s h g e n e r a l i z a t i o n s about t h e s t a n d a r d s and a c t u a l c o n s t r u c t i o n p r a c t i c e s . I d e a l s t a t e m e n t s o f p a s t
d i s t r i b u t i o n of h u n t i n g a c t i v i t i e s th rough t i m e and space . c o n s t r u c t i o n s t a n d a r d s may be o b t a i n e d from t h e l i t e r a t u r e . Actua l
I n g e n e r a l , i n f e r e n c e i s n o t a s powerful an argument i n
i n d u s t r i a l a rcheology a s i n p r e h i s t o r y . P a s t p a t t e r n s o f i n d u s t r i a l
behavior a r e f r e q u e n t l y s o w e l l documented t h a t i n f e r r i n g them from
a r c h e o l o g i c a l ev idence may be redundant . We do n o t need , f o r example,
t h e presence of a t r a i n depot t o e s t a b l i s h t h e e x i s t e n c e o f t r a i n s i n
19th c e n t u r y Chattanooga. The a p p l i c a t i o n o f i n f e r e n c e t o t h e obvious
i s s imply game p l a y i n g , though it is an approach a p p a r e n t l y advocated
by some a r c h e o l o g i s t s .
As a r c h a e o l o g i s t s we must depend on o u r a r c h a e o l o g i c a l t o o l s f o r o u r i n t e r p r e t i v e s t a t e m e n t s o f a r c h a e o l o g i c a l d a t a , and n o t r e s o r t t o t h e e a s y expedien t o f superimposing o u r h i s t o r i c a l d a t a o n t o t h e a r c h a e o l o g i c a l r e c o r d . I n o u r f i n a l i n t e r p r e t i v e s t a t e m e n t s we d o , o f c o u r s e , use bo th t h e a r c h a e o l o g i c a l and t h e h i s t o r i c a l d a t a , b u t we should n o t u s e t h e documented h i s t o r y o f t h e s i t e a s a n I n t e r p r e t i v e c r u t c h t o prop up o u r s t a t e m e n t s p u r p o r t i n g t o be a r c h a e o l o g i c a l i n n a t u r e I f we deve lop such h a b i t s and t h e n f i n d o u r s e l v e s i n a s i t u a t i o n where t h e r e i s no documentation t o l e a n o n , we may w e l l f i n d t h a t o u r a r c h a e o l o g i c a l t o o l k i t is empt o r t h a t we do n o t know how t o use t h e t o o l s we have a v a i l a b l e wi th which t o make i n t e r p r e t i v e s t a t e m e n t s o f a r c h a e o l o g i c a l d a t a . Such a leaninp-on-the-arms-of-history approach t o h i s t o r i c a l archaeol?$ , i s r e n d e r i n e a d i s s e r v i c e t o a rchaeology by n o t u t i i z i n p t o t h e f u l l e s t t h e p a t t e r n e d d a t a i t i s c a p a b l e of p roducing . 1
H i s t o r i c a l r e c o r d s o f t h e r e c e n t p a s t a r e s o voluminous t h e y a r e
f r e q u e n t l y a n embarassment t o a r c h e o l o g i c a l approaches . Yet ,
h i s t o r i c a l documents do n o t d e s c r i b e a l l p a s t e v e n t s wi th e q u a l d e t a i l
o r r e l i a b i l i t y . The documentary r e c o r d i s g e n e r a l l y incomple te and
c o n t r a d i c t o r y . I t may, a s w e l l , be i n c o n s i s t e n t wi th t h e
a r c h e o l o g i c a l r e c o r d .
When c o n t r a d i c t i o n s between a r c h e o l o g i c a l and h i s t o r i c a l
documents a c e d i s c o v e r e d , a r c h e o l o g i s t s g e n e r a l l y seek t o de te rmine
t h e " t r u e " r e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f t h e p a s t . A n t h r o p o l o g i c a l l y - t r a i n e d
a r c h e o l o g i s t s , however, should be aware t h a t c o n t r a d i c t i o n s and
i n c o n s i s t e n c i e s a r e b a s i c a t t r i b u t e s o f human thought and behavior .
D i f f e r e n c e s between r e a l e v e n t s and i d e a l s t a n d a r d s provide
o p p o r t u n i t i e s t o e x p l a i n complex l e v e l s o f human behavior and even t o
e x p l o r e t h e hazardous ground o f human m o t i v a t i o n .
The a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l s t u d y o f human c u l t u r a l c o n t r a d i c t i o n s is
g e n e r a l l y known a s d i a l e c t i c a l a n t h r o p o l o ~ y . ~ The a r c h e o l o g i c a l
a p p l i c a t i o n o f t h e d i a l e c t i c a l approach m i ~ h t be termed " i n d i r e c t
methods." I n d i r e c t methods d i f f e r from t h e u s u a l d i r e c t ,
i n f e r e n t i a l - r e c o n s t r u c t i v e methods by t h e i r f o c u s upon t h e d i s c o v e r y
and e x p l a n a t i o n o f i n c o n s i s t e n c i e s among v a r i o u s documentary and
h i s t o r i c c o n s t r u c t i o n p r a c t i c e s can be observed i n t h e f i e l d . I n t h e
summer o f 1977, t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f Tennessee a t Chattanooga
a r c h e o l o q i c a l f i e l d s c h o o l was conducted a t t h e u n l i k e l y bu t
convenien t l o c a t i o n o f t h e U n i v e r s i t y q u a d r a n g l e , where t h e r u i n s o f
t h e f i r s t campus b u i l d i n g l i e b u r i e d . T h i s f i r s t u n i v e r s i t y
s t r u c t u r e , u n i m a g i n a t i v e l y know a s "Old Main," was b u i l t i n 1886 and
t o r n down i n 1917. It was f o r t h e p l a c e and p e r i o d a massive b u i l d i n g
f i v e s t o r i e s i n h e i g h t and c o n t a i n i n g 80 rooms.^
Archeologica l e x c a v a t i o n s were under taken a t Old Main w i t h t h e
e x p r e s s e d p r o b l e m - o r i e n t a t i o n of d e t e r m i n i n g i f t h e i d e a l s t a n d a r d s of
t h e p e r i o d , 9 s o u t l i n e d by Baker and ank kine,^ had been fo l lowed i n
c o n s t r u c t i o n of t h e Old Main f o u n d a t i o n s . I n v e s t i g a t i o n s of t h e s t o n e
f o u n d a t i o n r e v e a l e d c o n s t r u c t i o n t h a t was i n a d e q u a t e a c c o r d i n g t o t h e
s t a n d a r d s o f t h e s e 1 9 t h c e n t u r y a u t h o r s . S p e c i f i c i n d i c a t i o n s of
sub-s tandard work i n c l u d e t h e f r e q u e n t u s e o f s p a l l s i n h o r i z o n t a l
j o i n t s , t h e e x c e s s i v e u s e o f mor ta r i n j o i n t s and w a l l i n t e r i o r s , t h e
presence o f s i d e j o i n t s l o c a t e d immediately above each o t h e r i n
s u c c e s s i v e c o u r s e s , and g e n e r a l uneveness o f c o n s t r u c t i o n . Not o n l y
d o e s t h e foundat ion p r o v i d e ev idence o f i n d i f f e r e n t workmanship, b u t
a lmos t a l l recovered b r i c k s a r e a l s o d e f e c t i v e . The c o r n e r s and s i d e s
of most a r e misshapen and c racked due t o t h e presence o f a i r pocke ts
n o t removed d u r i n g e x t r u s i o n from t h e pug m i l l . Many b r i c k s a r e
o v e r - f i r e d t o t h e p o i n t o f s e v e r e v i t r i f i c t i o n and sub-sur face
b o i l i n q . A number o f e x p l a n a t i o n s can be o f f e r e d f o r t h e s u b s t a n d a r d
b u i l d i n g p r a c t i c e s a p p a r e n t a t t h e Old Main s i t e . P o t e n t i a l
e x p l a n a t i o n s c u r r e n t l y b e i n g i n v e s t i g a t e d i n c l u d e t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f
i n a d e q u a t e funding , d i s r u p t i o n of t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n of t h e s k i l l e d
b u i l d i n g t r a d e s i n t h e p o s t - C i v i l War p e r i o d , and mendacity o f t h e
c o n t r a c t o r .
Obvious ly , compara t ive e f f o r t s a r e r e a u i r e d b e f o r e t h e s t u d y o f
sub-s tandard b u i l d i n g p r a c t i c e s can be approached s c i e n t i f i c a l l y . The
i n v e s t i g a t i o n s a t Old Main, however, demons t ra te t h a t a u a l i t a t i v e d a t a
r e g a r d i n g a c t u a l c o n s t r u c t i o n p r a c t i c e s can be e a s i l y o b t a i n e d and
c o n t r a s t e d wi th contemporary c o n s t r u c t i o n s t a n d a r d s i n o r d e r t o
g e n e r a t e p o t e n t i a l e x p l a n a t i o n s o f a n t h r o p o l i g i c a l i n t e r e s t .
A second example o f i n d i r e c t methods is a l s o drawn from t h e
Chattanooga a r e a and concerns t h e "Bluf f Furnace ," t h e f i r s t
coke- f i red b l a s t f u r n a c e i n t h e s o u t h e r n Appalachian r e g i o n . A b r i e f Through r e c e n t e x p l o r a t o r y a r c h e o l o g i c a l work, t h e e x t e n t and
h i s t o r y of t h i s o p e r a t i o n is o u t l i n e d below. major c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f t h e B l u f f Furnace have been mapped and
S i n c e t h e c l o s e of t h e C i v i l War Chattanooga h a s b e c o m e t h e most prominent i r o n c e n t e r i n Tennessee having s e v e r a l i r o n e n t e r p r i s e s o f i t s own and o t h e r s i n its v i c i n i t y . P r i o r t o t h e war, i n 1854, B l u f f f u r n a c e had been b u i l t by Robert Cravens James A . Whi tes ide and James P. Boyce, t o use c h a r c o a l . I n 1859 t h e l i m e s t o n e s t a c k was t o r n down by t h e E a s t Tennessee I r o n Company o f which James Henerson o f New York was t h e manager and a n e w i r o n cupola s t a c k 11 f e e t w i d e a t t h e boshes was e r e c t e d i n i ts p l a c e , and Racoon coke was t h e r e a f t e r use& a s f u e l The new f u r n a c e was blown i n
1860 b u t owin t o a s h o r t s u p p l y o f coke t h e b l a s t ?%ed o n l ? l?ng enoug8 t o permi t t h e p r o d u c t i o n of about 500 t o n s o f p ~ g i r o n . A l l t h e machinery and appoin tments o f t h e f u r n a c e worked s a t i s f a c t o r i l y . The f u r n a c e was s t , a r t e d on a second b l a s t on t h e 6 t h o f November t h e day o f t h e P r e s i d e n t i a l e l e c t i o n b u t p o l i t i c a l c o m ~ l i c a t i o n s and t h e demora l ized s t a t e of t h e f u r n a c e workmen were o b s t a c l e s t o o g r e a t t o be overcome, and t h e f u r n a c e soon c h i l l e d from t h e c a u s e l a s t mentioned. The s t a c k o f t h e f u r n a c e a t Chattanooga was used b t h e Union t r o o p s a s a l ime k i l n , by whom i t was s u b s e a u e n ~ l y t u r n down. T h i s was t h e f i r s t coke f u r n a c e i n e i t h e r of t h e S t a t e s o f Tennessee o r Alabama, which a r e now t h e t h e a t r e o f such g r e a t p r e s e n t and p r o s p e c t i v e a c t i v i t y i n t h e manufac ture o f p i g i r o n wi th t h i s f u e l .
d e s c r i b e d . l 0 It h a s been p o s s i b l e , a s a r e s u l t , t o c l e a r l y i d e n t i f y
a p r e v i o u s l y unrecognized 1860 photograph o f t h e f u r n a c e i n o p e r a t i o n .
These i n v e s t i g a t i o n s i n d i c a t e t h a t t h e f u r n a c e p l a n t occupied a n a r e a
approximate ly 180 f e e t by 150 f e e t . The mass ive s t o n e w a l l s o f t h e
c a s t i n g shed were t h r e e f e e t t h i c k , n o t i n c l u d i n g f o o t i n g s . A blowing
e n g i n e was a p p a r e n t l y p r e s e n t , a s was a hea t -exchanger o r h o t - b l a s t
d e v i c e . The B l u f f Furnace , t h e n , was n o t t h e " d i m i n u t i v e e f f o r t " o r a
' t r i f l i n g a f f a i r " t h a t McGowan would have r e a d e r s b e l i e v e .
Mythology, i n t h e a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l s e n s e , d e a l s w i t h t h e
e s t a b l i s h m e n t of o p p o s i t i o n . The p o s t - C i v i l War i n d u s t r i a l i s t s
c o n t r a s t e d t h e g r e a t n e s s o f t h e i r accomplishments w i t h t h e s u ~ p o s e d
p r i m i t i v e n e s s o f t h e i r p r e d e c e s s o r s . Technologica l myths o f t e n
c o n t r a s t supposed p r e s e n t g r e a t n e s s wi th a n imagined p r i m i t i v e p a s t .
F i g u r e 1. E n g r a v i n g of Bluff F u r n a c e , 1858 .
The development of t h e p o s t - C i v i l War p i g i r o n i n d u s t r y o f t h e
Chattanooga a r e a was l a r g e l y due t o t h e e f f o r t s of ex-Union Army
o f f i c e r s who r e c o ~ n i z e d t h e i n d u s t r i a l p o t e n t i a l o f t h e E a s t Tennessee
r e g i o n d u r i n g t h e i r m i l i t a r y t o u r s o f d u t y . These i n d i v i d u a l s were,
i n t h e p a r l a n c e of t h e d a y , "carpe tbaggers" and t h e y had l i t t l e
sympathy f o r t h e t r a d i t i o n s and accomplishments o f t h e ante-bellum
South . It is n o t s u r p r i s i n g , t h e r e f o r e , t h a t t h e y would r e - w r i t e t h e
i n d u s t r i a l h i s t o r y o f t h a t r e g i o n f o r t h e i r own purposes and would
minimize t h e r o l e of t h e B l u f f Furnace . An example of t h e i r handiwork
is quoted below:
With t h e e x c e p t i o n of q very d i m i n i t i v e e f f o r t no a t t e m t was made i n t h e South p r e v i o u s t o 1868 t o u s e c o a l o r cage i n i r o n s m e l t i n g . That e f f o r t was by a gentleman named Churchi 'bl , and h i s f u r n a c e s t o o d u n d e r t h e r i v e r b l u f f e a s t o f t h e f o o t of Market S t r e e t i n t h i s c l t . I t w a s a t r i f l i n g i f f a i r * m a r i p a f e w t o n s o f i r o n . was c h i f l e d and wi th t h e war - - . . -. , . . . - - - - . - . . . . . - . - -
coming on was abandoned.. . . ~ h e ' m o n e y and energy were a C l e a r l o s s a s t h e y demonstrated no p o s s i b i l i t y o f o u r c o a l a s a n e f f i c i e n t f u e l , nor o u r f o s s i l i f e r o u s o r e s a s f i t m a t e r i a l f o r makina good i r o n . No n o t i c e o f t h i s was t a k e n e i t h e r a s a f a i l u r e o r s u c c e s s i n any r e s p e c t * by t h e r e a l p i o n e e r s i n t h e Coke I r o n b u s i n e s s i n t h e S o u t h . /
Col. J . E. McGowan, a u t h o r o f t h i s q u o t a t i o n , was e d i t o r of t h e
C h a t t a n o o ~ a ~ i m e s . ~ He was a n ex-Union o f f i c e r , and he promoted a s
t h e t r u e founder of t h e l o c a l i r o n i n d u s t r y t h e Union m i l i t a r y h e r o
and i n d u s t r i a l i s t , John T. Wi lder . It is u n l i k e l y t h a t Wilder was
unaware o f t h e B l u f f Furnace a s he camped wi th h i ? ? men immediately
a c r o s s t h e Tennessee River from i t d u r i n g t h e i r 15 day bombardment o f
Chat tanooga . The s i t e i s c l e a r l y shown on a map drawn by one of h i s
men.9
F i g u r e 2. P h o t o g r a p h of Bluf f F u r n a c e , 1860 .
The o p p o s i t e , however, may a l s o o c c u r . The s h a b b i n e s s o f contemporary
c r e a t i o n s may be c o n t r a s t e d wi th t h e assumed m a s t e r c r a f t s m a n s h i p o f
t h e p a s t . I n d u s t r i a l a r c h e o l o g i s t s , t h e r e f o r e , th rough i n d i r e c t
methods, c a n be s e e k e r s o f i n d u s t r i a l myths, a s w e l l a s d i s c o v e r e r s of
i n d u s t r i a l f a c t s .
I n d i r e c t methods, i n summary, a r e approaches t h a t compare and
c o n t r a s t a r c h e o l o g i c a l r e a l i t i e s w i t h h i s t o r i c documents f o r t h e
purpose o f d i s c o v e r i n g c u l t u r a l c o n t r a d i c t i o n s . Such approaches a r e
n o t l i m i t e d t o a r c h e o l o g i c a l o r h i s t o r i c a l d a t a , b u t a r e t r u l y
i n t e r d i s c i p l i n a r y . The burdens imposed by t h e s e methods a r e s e v e r e . ~- ~ ~
Sampling problems, t h e bane o f bo th a r c h e o l o g i s t s and h i s t o r i a n s , a r e
magni f ied a s a r c h e o l o g i c a l and h i s t o r i c a l d a t a a r e brought i n t o
c o n j u n c t i o n . L e v e l s of a b s t r a c t i o n must be c l a r i f i e d and t h e r o l e of
f o r t u i t o u s d i s c o v e r y minimized s o t h a t i n d i r e c t i n v e s t i g a t i o n s do n o t
assume t h e c h a r a c t e r of u n r e l a t e d a n e c d o t e s .
I f i n d i r e c t methods a r e t o s u c c e e d , it is i m p e r a t i v e t h a t
i n v e s t i g a t o r b i a s be minimized. I n d u s t r i a l s i t e s must be r e c o r d e d
wi th t h e h i g h e s t d e c r e e o f accuracy t h a t is p o s s i b l e . I d e a l i z a t i o n i n
t h e r e c o r d i n g of s i t e s f o r s i m p l i f i c a t i o n o r p r e s e r v a t i o n purposes
must be avoided s o t h a t a r c h e o l o g i c a l r e a l i t i e s may be compared w i t h
h i s t o r i c a l l y documented i d e a l s t a n d a r d s .
The g o a l s of i n d i r e c t methods a r e , i n t h e end , compara t ive . It
i s hoped t h a t t h e s e methods w i l l produce d a t a a b o u t C u l t u r a l
c o n t r a d i c t i o n s t h a t a r e t r u l y comparable and t h a t comparisons can be I r a C. Baker, A T r e a t i s e on Masonrv C o n s t r u c t i o n (New York: John Wiley and Sons , 1 . 1 lam . a n i n e a n u a l o f C i v i l
conducted both th rough t ime and a c r o s s s p a c e . Engineer ing (London: C h m f f i n &d"bo:paiy, \8! I? .
FOOTNOTES James M. Swank, H i s t o r v o f t h e Manufacture o f I r o n i n A l l a ( P h i l a d e l p h i a : The American I r o n and S t e e l l n s t l t u t e , lSY21. S t a n l e y South H i s t o r i c a l Archaeolo Re o r t s : A P l e a f o r a
New D i r e c t i o n ( c o l u h b ~ a : m e l n s t i t u ? ; gf Archaeology a n 6 Anthropology, 1974) , pp. 151-56. Col. J . E. McGnwan "Chattanooga: I ts P a s t , P r e s e n t and F u t ~ r e , ~ ~ & Chattanooga ~ i m e ; , 1885.
Robert F. Mur hy, The D i a l e c t i c s o f S o c i a l L i f e (New York: Bas ic Books, I n c . , 19717. C h a r l e s D. McGuffe S tandard H i s t o r o f C h a t t a n o o ~ a ,
Tennessee ( K n o x v i l l e : ~ n o x v i l t ; P r i n t i n g and Box Company, 191 1 ).
3 J e f f r e y L. Brown "Problems w i t h C a t e g o r i e s o f People: Can Archaeology He1 ? " ( ~ o l u h b i a : The I n s t i t u t e of Archaeology and John W . Rowell , Yankee A r t i l l e r y m e n ( K n o x v i l l e : The Anthropology, 19y5). U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1975) .
G i l b e r t E. Govan and James W . Livingood The U n i v e r s i t of l o J e f f r e y L Brown "Ex l o r a t o r y Archaeolo i c a l Excava t ions Chattanooga: s i x t v Years (Chattanooga: ~ n i v e ; s i t y o r ~ n a t t a n z o g a , a t t h e luff urn ace site" (cf ia t tanooga: ~ n s t i t u f e o f Archaeology,
1977) .
I I
I N D U S T R I A L A R C H E O L O G Y A S A C U L T U R A L R E S O U R C E
6 I N D U S T R I A L A R C H E O L O G Y ' S R O L E
I N C U L T U R A L R E S O U R C E M A N A G E M E N T
Brenda B a r r e t t
Nat iona l R e g i s t e r o f H i s t o r i c P l a c e s
Washington, D.C.
With t h e i n c r e a s i n g flow o f governmental funding from s e v e r a l
l e g i s l a t i v e s o u r c e s ( H i s t o r i c S i t e s Act o f 1935, H i s t o r i c P r e s e r v a t i o n
Act o f 1966, Nat iona l Environmental P o l i c y Act o f 1969, Archeologica l
and H i s t o r i c P r e s e r v a t i o n Act o f 1974 u . 1 f i e l d work i n American
a rcheology h a s g r a v i t a t e d towards c u l t u r a l r e s o u r c e management; a
b u r e a u c r a t i c term f o r t h e c o n s i d e r a t i o n , p r o t e c t i o n , and p o s s i b l e
s a l v a g e o f h i s t o r i c and p r e h i s t o r i c s i t e s and s t r u c t u r e s i n t h e pa th
o f oncoming f e d e r a l ~ r o j e c t s . The importance o f t h i s phenomenon may
be judQed by t h e f i g u r e s . L a s t y e a r t h e m a j o r i t y o f a l l funds f o r
a r c h e o l o p i c a l f i e l d r e s e a r c h i n t h i s c o u n t r y were spent under t h e
a e g i s of c u l t u r a l nesource management. 1
The t r e a t m e n t of a rcheology a s t h e management o f a n a t i o n a l
r e s o u r c e h a s been a s o u r c e o f concern f o r t r a d i t i o n a l a r c h e o l o g i s t s .
They view t h e l e g i s l a t i v e l y sponsored work a s a p o s s i b l e t h r e a t t o
a rcheology a s a n academic d i s c i p l i n e . The f l u o r e s c e n t a r c h e o l o g i c a l
c o n t r a c t i n g f i r m s and f r e e l a n c e s h o v e l s , t h e narrow o r i e n t a t i o n o f
some r e s o u r c e s u r v e y s , and t h e n e c e s s i t y o f a p p l y i n g f e d e r a l s t a n d a r d s
of s i g n i f i c a n c e a l l c o n t r i b u t e t o t h i s f e e l i n g o f unease . Problems
caused by t h e boom town F i t u d e ,d t h e f i e 1 d a r e swee i t t -d by t h e
undoubted benefit,^ o f a h igh l e v e l o f funding and d i v e r s i f i e d r e s e a r c h
on a r e g i o n a l s c a l e . These undoubted b e n e f i t s a p p l y doubly f o r a
deve loping d i s c i p l i n e l i k e i n d u s t r i a l a r c h e o l o g y . The c u l t u r a l
r e s o u r c e management approach i s one r o u t e t o money, s u p p o r t , and
r e c o g n i t i o n . Edward and Mary J a n e R u t c h ' s work i n P a t e r s o n New J e r s e y
and t h e s u r v e y s o f t h e H i s t o r i c American Engineer ing Record a r e
n o t a b l e examples of f e d e r a l l y funded i n d u s t r i a l a r c h e o l o g y .
T h i s paper r a i s e s a few i s s u e s f o r i n d u s t r i a l a r c h e o l o g i s t s t o
c o n s i d e r a s t h e y seek t h e i r f o r t u n e i n c u l t u r a l r e s o u r c e management.
One must s t a r t wi th a b e l i e f i n t h e p r o d u c t . It is n e c e s s a r y t o
assume m e r i t i n t r e a t i n q Amer ica ' s i n d u s t r i a l p a s t a s a v a l u a b l e
c u l t u r a l r e s o u r c e which l o q i c a l l y should be c o n s i d e r e d a f t e r a s t u d y
of t h e p r e h i s t o r y and e a r l y h i s t o r y o f a r e g i o n . The f i r s t l e v e l on
which t h e i n d u s t r i a l a r c h e o l o g i s t needs t o d e a l wi th c u l t u r a l r e s o u r c e
management i s t h a t of p u b l i c r e l a t i o n s . The g e n e r a l c i t i z e n r y and
bureaucracy i s unaware of t h e e x i s t e n c e of i n d u s t r i a l a rcheology a s a
f i e l d o f s t u d y . Even w i t h t h e growing s e n s i t i v i t y t o t h e v a l u e o f
p r e s e r v i n g t h e p a s t , o l d houses and arrow p o i n t s have a more
marke tab le q u a l i t y t h a n t h e a v e r a g e i n d u s t r i a l s i t e o r s t r u c t u r e .
I n d u s t r i a l a rcheology a s a new f i e l d h a s o n l y a s m a l l g roup
looking o u t f o r i t s i n t e r e s t s i n t h e p lanning of new f e d e r a l p r o j e c t s .
Although t h i s is g r a d u a l l y changing , i n d u s t r i a l a rcheology h a s even
made t h e f r o n t page o f t h e Wall S t r e e t ~ o u r n a l ~ , more p u b l i c
e d u c a t i o n about t h e s u b j e c t is a n e c e s s a r y f i r s t s t e p . Genera t ing
p u b l i c i n t e r e s t is p a r t i c u l a r l y i m p o r t a n t , because o u r i n d u s t r i a l p a s t
i s d i s a p p e a r i n g f a s t e r t h a n any o t h e r c u l t u r a l r e s o u r c e . Robert Vogel
summed up some of t h e f a c t o r s t h a t have has tened t h e o b l i t e r a t i o n of
i n d u s t r i a l r e s o u r c e s i n A Report of t h e Mohawk-Hudson Area Survev;
. . . u n a t t r a c t i v e s u r r o u n d i n g s , poor c o n d i t i o n s due t o l a c k o f
maintenance d u r i n g t h e f i n a l y e a r s o f use o r long abandonment; and i n
t h e c a s e of b u i l d i n g s , normal ly a s i z e t o o g r e a t o r a l a y o u t t o o
s p e c i a l i z e d f o r most a d a p t i v e uses . "3 He a l s o p o i n t s t o t h e unsavory
p s y c h o l o g i c a l element connec ted wi th i n d u s t r i a l a r e a s . The f a c t t h a t
f a c t o r i e s a r e a s s o c i a t e d wi th n o i s e , d i r t , and human e x p l o i t a t i o n
r e t a r d s t h e r e c o g n i t i o n o f t h e i r i n f o r m a t i o n a l c o n t e n t .
For y e a r s i n d u s t r i a l s i t e s have n o t been cons idered a
p r o t e c t a b l e e n t i t y under n a t i o n a l l e g i s l a t i o n . T h i s a t t i t , u d e must be
changed i f t h e i n d u s t r i a l a r c h e o l o e i s t is t o p a r t i c i p a t e t o a wider
e x t e n t i n c u l t u r a l r e s o u r c e management. A l i t t l e j u d i c i o u s lobbying
could be most h e l p f u l . A ready example is t h e promotion t h a t
i n d u s t r i a l a rcheology g e t s i n t h e f o l d e r d e s c r i b i n g t h e s e r v i c e s o f
t h e " I n t e r a g e n c y Archeologica l Program.114
I f a l a c k o f p u b l i c r e c o g n i t i o n i s a problem, a l a c k o f
c o h e s i v e p r i n c i p l e s making up t h e f i e l d is a more fundamental problem.
A t l e a s t t r a d i t i o n a l a r c h e o l o g i s t s and h i s t o r i a n s have a developed
body o f t h e o r y and i n f o r m a t i o n t o apply t o t h e s p e c i a l problems o f
c u l t u r a l r e s o u r c e management. I n d u s t r i a l a rcheology draws on t h e
s k i l l s o f a v a r i e t y o f e s t a b l i s h e d f i e l d s : h i s t o r y , economics,
a rcheology , e n g i n e e r i n g , e t c . Only a few p r a c t i t i o n e r s have been a b l e
t o manipula te t h e t o t a l complex of i n f o r m a t i o n . U n t i l r e c e n t l y l i t t l e
thought h a s been g i v e n t o e s t a b l i s h i n g a t h e o r e t i c a l base f o r t h e l e s s
c r e a t i v e t o fo l low.
There h a s a l s o been i n s u f f i c e n t t ime t o deve lop a broad d a t a
b a s e o r many examples o f f i n i s h e d work i n t h e f i e l d . I n England,
where i n d u s t r i a l a rcheology h a s a l o n g e r h i s t o r y , many l o c a l g roups
have broken t h e back o f t h e work by per forming r e g i o n a l s u r v e y s t h a t
a t l e a s t i d e n t i f y t h e remnant of i n d u s t r y i n a g iven r e g i o n . General
works on v a r i o u s g e o g r a p h i c a l a r e a s of t h e United Kingdom have a l r e a d y
been p u b l i s h e d . 5 Only a few broad based s t u d i e s from which more
s p e c i f i c work c a n be launched have been a t t e m p t e d i n t h i s c o u n t r y .
The Reoort of t h e Mohawk-Hudson Area ~ u r v e v h s an e x c e p t i o n , one o f
t h e s t a t e d g o a l s o f t h e book i s t o g i v e a n overview o f t h a t impor tan t
i n d u s t r i a l a r e a . The H i s t o r i c American Eneineer ing Record wi th 5 ,000
s i t e s on f i l e h a s done p i o n e e r i n n work. The s u r v e y h a s fo l lowed a
r e g i o n a l approach; however, many s e c t i o n s o f t h e c o u n t r y remain
unexplored .
I n d u s t r i a l a r c h e o l o & i s t s involved i n a c u l t u r a l r e s o u r c e s t u d y
a r e c h a l l e n g e d by t h e l a c k o f even b a s i c i n f o r m a t i o n on a p a r t i c u l a r
a r e a . A f t e r s t a r t i n g from s c r a t c h and i d e n t i f y i n g t h e i n d u s t r i a l
r e s o u r c e s w i t h i n t h e c o n f i n e s o f t h e p r o j e c t , he o r she s t i l l h a s o n l y
a t e l e s c o p i c view o f t h e a r e a . The i n d u s t r i a l a r c h e o l o e i s t does have
t h e advantage o f p roximi ty i n t ime t o t h e s u b j e c t m a t t e r and i n
comparison t o o t h e r a r c h e o l o q i s t s a wea l th o f w r i t t e n m a t e r i a l . The
a v a i l i b i l i t y o f raw d a t a and t h e l a c k o f o rganized r e s e a r c h o n l y
i n c r e a s e s t h e impor tance o f t h e work.
On a more p r a c t i c a l l e v e l t h e l a c k o f compara t ive d a t a hampers
i n d u s t r i a l a r c h e o l o g i s t s i n per forming t h e i r o b l i a a t i o n s under a
c u l t u r a l r e s o u r c e management s t u d y . The f e d e r a l l y d e f i n e d o b j e c t i v e
of t h e s e s t u d i e s i s t h e i d e n t i f i c a t i o n o f s i t e s and s t r u c t u r e s
e l i g i b l e f o r t h e N a t i o n a l R e g i s t e r of H i s t o r i c P l a c e s . While R e g i s t e r
nomina t ions may be prepared f o r s i t e s o f p u r e l y l o c a l i n t e r e s t , v a l i d
d i s c r i m i n a t i o n of r a r e i n d u s t r i a l s t r u c t u r e s o r p r o c e s s e s from t h e
commonplace is d i f f i c u l t w i t h o u t a n u n d ~ r s t q n d i n g o f comparable
r e g i o n a l and n a t i o n a l m a t e r i a l . T h i s problem c a n be overcome t o t h e
d e g r e e t h e f i e l d worker per forms a d d i t i o n a l background e x p l o r a t i o n .
The N a t i o n a l R e g i s t e r c r i t e r i a must be a p p l i e d t o t h e r e s o u r c e s i n
each r e g i o n a l s u r v e y . T h i s i n f o r m a t i o n i s used f o r p l a n n i n g purposes
and is t h e o n l y d a t a t h a t by law need be a t t e n d e d t o by a f e d e r a l
agency.
An even more fundamental problem is t h e n e x t s t e p o f
recommending a " f i n a l s o l u t i o n " f o r impor tan t i n d u s t r i a l r e s o u r c e s
t h a t w i l l be a d v e r s e l y e f f e c t e d ( i . e . d e s t r o y e d o r a l t , e r e d by f e d e r a l
a c t i o n ) .^ For a v a r i e t y o f food r e a s o n s i n d u s t r i a l s t r u c t u r e s a r e
d i f f i c u l t t o r e u s e once t h e i r day is p a s t and t h e y r a r e l y p l a y a key
r o l e i n m a i n t a i n i n g t h e atmosphere o f a neighborhood. More t h a n o t h e r
r e s o u r c e s f o r e s i g h t e d , o r g a n i z e d d e s t r u c t i o n ( w i t h measured drawings ,
h i s t o r i c a l r e s e a r c h , photographs e t c . ) may be a n a c c e p t a b l e
c o n c l u s i o n . I n d u s t r i a l s i t e s t h a t have been b u r i e d by n e g l e c t o r
p u r p o s e f u l a c t i o n pose a n o t h e r problem. Of ten v a s t q u a n t i t i e s of
overburden must be removed t o r e a c h t h e o r i g i n a l l e v e l and t h e
s t r a t i g r a p h i c accumula t ions o f 2 0 t h c e n t u r y I n d u s t r i a l a r e a s c a n be
s t a g g e r i n g . The amount o f i n f o r m a t i o n may be i n s i g n i f i c a n t and
a v a i l a b l e from o t h e r s o u r c e s . The e x c a v a t i o n o f l a r g e i n d u s t r i a l
s i t e s is n o t t o be under taken l i g h t l y .
T h i s paper i s o n l y i n d i r e c t , l y concerned w i t h i n d u s t r i a l
a r c h e o l o g y ' s c o n t r i b u t i o n t o t h e u n d e r s t a n d i n g of human c u l t u r e . It
s imply d i s c u s s e s one method, c u l t u r a l r e s o u r c e management, by which
t h e d i s c i p l i n e c a n i n c r e a s e t h e sum o f i t s knowledge and poses a few
i s s u e s t h a t need t o be c o n s i d e r e d i n t h i s a r e a . A s should be expec ted
i s s u e s of p u b l i c e d u c a t i o n and t e c h n i q u e a r e e a s i e r t o propose
c o n c r e t e s o l u t i o n s t o t h a n t h e more d i f f i c u l t . q u e s t i o n o f f o r m u l a t i n g
a t h e o r e t i c a l b a s i s f o r t h e f i e l d . While i n d u s t r i a l a r c h e o l o g y ' s
c a t h o l i c approach g i v e s i t g r e a t c r e a t i v e p o t e n t i a l , a d i v e r s i f i d
i n t e l l e c t u a l base i s no rep lacement f o r i ts own uniaue g o 2 l s and
o b j e c t i v e s . I f t h e f i e l d does n o t approach c u l t u r a l r e s o u r c e
management w i t h a c l e a r u n d e r s t a n d i n g of i t s e l f , i n d u s t r i a l a rcheology
w i l l f i n d i t s o n l y methodology grounded i n f e d e r a l l aws and
r e g u l a t i o n s .
F o o t n o t e s
1 . Michael B. S c h i f f e r , and John H. House, " C u l t u r a l Resource
Management and Archeologica l Research , Cache P r o j e c t . " C u r r e n t
Anthrouolom 18 1977.
Z . " I n d u s t r i a l E v o l u t i o n , New ArCheOlogy Breed Seeks t o Learn More
of Manufacturing P a s t " Wall S t r e e t J o u r n a l , 26 June 1975.
3. Robert M. Vogel, e d . , Smi thsonian P u b l i c a t i o n s i n Technology,
u, 1973.
4 . N a t i o n a l Park S e r v i c e , U.S. Department o f t h e I n t e r i o r .
5. For example, David s m i t h ' s book on t h e I n d u s t r i a l Archaeology
o f t h e Eas t Midlands (Devon: David and C h a r l e s L t d . , 1965).
7 . It is l e s s l i k e l y t h a t t h e i n t r u s i o n o f v i s u a l , a u d i b l e o r
a tmospher ic e l e m e n t s w i l l be o u t of c h a r a c t e r w i t h a n i n d u s t r i a l s i t e .
See Advisory Council on H i s t o r i c P r e s e r v a t i o n , Procedures f o r t h e
p r o t e c t i o n o f h i s t o r i c and c u l t u r a l p r o p e r t i e s , 36 CFR 800.9. 1974.
7 I N D U S T R I A L A R C H E O L O G Y I N I T A L Y : B I R T H A N D P E R S P E C T I V E S
Paolo Caputo
U n i v e r s i t 6 d i A r c h i t e t t u r a d e l P o l i t e c n i c o de Milano
Milan, I t a l y
T h i s is t h e f i r s t t ime t h a t I t a l i a n s c h o l a r s have spoken i n
t h i s c o u n t r y about t h e f i e l d and , t h e r e f o r e , i t i s t h e f i r s t o c c a s i o n
t h a t we have had t o exchange i d e a s and e x p e r i e n c e s . Although Orne l la
S e l v a f o l t a and I r e p r e s e n t t h e I t a l i a n S o c i e t y f o r I n d u s t r i a l
Archeology, we w i l l e x p r e s s o u r p e r s o n a l p o i n t s o f view; t h e r e a r e
many i d e a s and, c o n s e q u e n t l y , much d e b a t e on t h e t o p i c i n o u r S o c i e t y .
Before e x p l a i n i n g t h e p r e s e n t and f u t u r e programs of t h e
I . S . I . A . , i t i s impor tan t t o d i s c u s s t h e b i r t h o f I n d u s t r i a l
Archeology a s a n autonomous d i s c i p l i n e i n I t a l y . Three c o n d i t i o n s a r e
r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e r i s e o f I n d u s t r i a l Archeology i n my c o u n t r y .
However, t h e s e , by t h e m s e l v e s , d i d n o t g e n e r a t e i ts s t u d y The f i r s t
o r " i n s t i t u t i o n a l " t y p e o f c o n d i t i o n i s connected d i r e c t l y w i t h
' C u l t u r a l Resources Management" which numerous p u b l i c a g e n c i e s and
i n s t i t u t e s p r a c t i c e a t v a r i o u s l e v e l s i n I t a l y . I n f a c t , t h e s e
a c t i v i t i e s a r e r a t h e r new h e r e . What does C u l t u r a l Re-sources
Management mean f o r us? It r e f e r s t o a l l a c t i v i t i e s which improve
knowledge, t h e d i f f u s i o n o f knowledge, and t h e s a f e g u a r d s ,
p r e s e r v a t i o n , and t h e c o r r e c t u s e of h i s t o r i c a l t e s t i m o n y . U n t i l
r e c e n t l y , o n l y monuments, works o f a r t , and a r c h e o l o g i c a l r e p o r t s from
what were cons idered t h e " e s s e n t i a l " p e r i o d s of a r t and a r c h i t e c t u r a l
h i s t o r y were esteemed a s h i s t o r i c a l documents worthy of b e i n g
p r e s e r v e d . The new c u l t u r a l point-of-view a r o s e i n t h e s i x t i e s and
s e v e n t i e s a s a r e s p o n s e t o e v e n t s such a s t h e c r i s i s of " o f f i c i a l
c u l t u r e " c r e a t e d by t h e s t u d e n t protest,^ o f 1968, t h e i n t e r e s t o f
g roups such a s t h e WWF, I t a l i a N o s t r a , e t c , i n p r e s e r v a t i o n of o u r
h i s t o r i c a l h e r i t a g e , t h e b i r t h of t h e M i n i s t r y o f C u l t u r a l Resources,
and , l a s t bu t n o t l e a s t , t h e c r e a t i o n of r e g i o n a l a d m i n i s t r a t i v e
o r g a n i z a t i o n s which took i n t o account l o c a l s i t u a t i o n s . ( I b e l i e v e
B r a n d e l ' s t h e s i s a l s o had a g r e a t i n f l u e n c e i n t h i s r e g a r d . F .
Brande l , C i v i l i s a t i o n m a t e r i e l l e e t c a p i t a l i s m e XV/XVIII s i e c l e ,
P a r i s , 1 9 6 7 . ) And t h u s t h e d i s t i n c t i o n s between more and l e s s
impor tan t a r t s and between t h e r u l i n g c u l t u r e ' s power t o p r e s e r v e and
t o i g n o r e s u b o r d i n a t e c u l t u r e , and t h e c o n t r a s t between t h e
" s i n g u l a r i t y " o f t h e monument and t h e s u r r o u n d i n g man-made o r n a t u r a l
environment a r e i d e a s which a r e no l o n g e r g e n e r a l l y a c c e p t e d . I n
b r i e f , we have adopted an a n t h r o p o l o a i c a l concept o f c u l t u r e a n d , a s a
consequence , t h e b r o a d e s t n o t i o n o f n c u l t u r a l r e s o u r c e s . " A t l a s t ,
envi ronments and o b j e c t s connec ted w i t h i n d u s t r i a l p r o d u c t i o n ,
machines, e t c . a r e esteemed a s c u l t u r a l r e s o u r c e s , a s v a l i d tes t imony
of h i s t o r y and c u l t u r e j u s t a s t h e work o f a r t o r t h e s i n g u l a r , r a r e ,
o r r e p r e s e n t a t i v e monument.
The second c o n d i t i o n which gave b i r t h t o I n d u s t r i a l Archeology
i n I t a l y i s t h e i n t e n s e urban c o n f l i c t , which can be d i v i d e d i n t o two
phases . Urban growth was very s low. M e t r o p o l i t a n a r e a s were c r e a t e d
i n t h e f i f t i e s and s i x t i e s by t h e r a p i d i n d u s t r i a l development which
caused mass ive m i g r a t i o n s from t h e c o u n t r y s i d e t o t h e towns, from
s o u t h t o n o r t h .
A t t h e end o f t h e f i r s t phase , t h e urban s t r u c t u r e was a s
f o l l o w s : towns c o n s i s t i n g o f a c e n t r a l a r e a u t i l i z e d f o r h o u s i n g ,
t e r t i a r y a c t i v i t i e s , commerce, t h e s t i l l - f l o u r i s h i n g a r t i s a n s , and a
c l o s e d p e r i p h e r y w i t h i n d u s t r i e s and i m m i g r a n t s ' , c l e r k s ' , and
wurkmens' houses . I n t h e middle o f t h e s i x t i e s , t h e economic powers
r a t i o n a l i z e d i n d u s t r i a l p r o d u c t i o n . They moved f a c t o r i e s beyond t h e
p e r i p h e r y where, t h a n k s t o t h e l a r g e open s p a c e s , t h e y were a b l e t o
b u i l d new f a c t o r i e s and t o up-date technology . B u t , a t t h e same t i m e ,
t h e y had p l a n s f o r c e n t r a l a r e a s . These , f r e e of o l d b u i l d i n g s , could
be used f o r more l u c r a t i v e v e n t u r e s : commerce, b u s i n e s s , and l u x u r y
a p a r t m e n t s .
I n t h e l a t e s i x t i e s , t h e second phase was i n t h e l a s t s t a g e o f
f o r m u l a t i o n . Many c i t i z e n s from t h e lower c l a s s e s had o r g a n i z e d
committees whose i n t e n t was t o r e c l a i m t h e i r " r i g h t " t o t h e i n n e r
c i t y , i n o t h e r words, t o economical h o u s i n g , suppor ted wi th s t a t e a i d ,
i n t h e c e n t r a l zones o f t h e c i t y where t h e r e a r e t h e most p u b l i c and
s o c i a l s e r v i c e s , such a s s c h o o l s , h o s p i t a l s , t r a n s p o r t a t i o n , e t c .
Fur thermore , t h e lower c l a s s e s were opposed t o b e i n g d i s p e r s e d i n
s e v e r a l d i s t r i c t s , f a r from t h e v i t a l c e n t e r of t h e c i t y , when t h e
s t r u g g l e between t h e u n i o n s , government, and i n d u s t r y was becoming
i n t e n s e .
The above means t h a t , a t f i r s t , t h e urban c o n f l i c t c e n t e r e d
e x c l u s i v e l y on t h e hous ing problem. The c i t i z e n committees f o u g h t
a g a i n s t i n s t i t u t i o n s i n o r d e r t o o b t a i n r e s t o r a t i o n s o f o l d p l a c e s o f
Figure 1. Bridge of Paderno d'Adda, a late nineteenth-century s tee l a r c h located near Milan. The upper deck c a r r i e s highway traff ic , the lower railway traffic. Photograph by D. Newell.
r e s i d e n c e and a g a i n s t p r i v a t e owners of t h e b u i l d i n g s i n o r d e r t o
prevent t h e i r t r a n s f o r m a t i o n i n t o o f f i c e s a n d / o r l u x u r y a p a r t m e n t s .
Af te rwards , i n c o n j u n c t i o n wi th t h e economic c r i s i s and t h e ensu ing
development p l a n , t h e c o n f l i c t was e n l a r g e d from t h e hous ing problem
t o i n c l u d e a l s o t h e p l a c e of work. With t h e e n t r a n c e of l a r g e
i n d u s t r i a l complexes i n t o t h e c r i s i s , t h e lower c l a s s e s began t o
defend , n o t o n l y f o r economic bu t a l s o f o r p h y s i c a l r e a s o n s , t h e i r
p l a c e s o f work. Examples o f such s t r u g g l e s i n c l u d e t h o s e of t h e
dockyard workers o f t h e Giudecca, i n Venice, t o defend t h e i r p l a c e of
work and nearby r e s i d e n c e s , and t h o s e o f t h e p o p u l a t i o n o f t h e
company-town of C r e s p i d lAdda , which r e c e n t l y was pu t up f o r s a l e . I t
should be emphasized t h a t a n economic c l a i m becomes a c u l t u r a l c l a i m
when i t c e n t e r s on t h e d e f e n s e of h i s t o r i c a l s t r u c t u r e s and
t e s t i m o n i e s .
The t h i r d c o n d i t i o n which l i e s a t t h e base o f I n d u s t r i a l
Archeology was c r e a t e d by t h e c u l t u r a l 2nd s c i e n t i f i c e x i g e n c i e s i n
t h e f i e l d of h i s t o r i c a l d i s c i p l i n e s . The e x p e r i e n c e o f s e v e r a l
s t u d i e s r e s u l t e d i n t h e need t o r e c o g n i z e n o t o n l y t h e w r i t t e n
documents, b u t a l s o t o r e c o n s t r u c t t h e p h y s i c a l and envi ronmenta l
c o n t e x t of s e v e r a l phases o r h i s t o r i c a l s i t u a t i o n s . As a r e s u l t of
ex t ,ens ive f i e l d w o r k , f o r example, r e s e a r c h on t h e 18th c e n t u r y
manufac tur ing c e n t e r of San Leucio h a s brought t o l i e h t a s i n g u l a r and
s t i m u l a t i n g s o c i a l - u r b a n experiment and t h e r e c o n s t r u c t i o n of t h e
Bourbons' v a s t p l a n t o o r g a n i z e Southern T t a l y . T h i s r e c o n s t r u c t i o n
o v e r t u r n s t h e n e g a t i v e h i s t o r i c a l o p i n i o n h e l d up u n t i l now. Research
i s b e i n g conducted on t h e p h y s i c a l s t r u c t u r e s on t h e h i s t o r i c
p e r i p h e r y o f Milan. These s t u d i e s sometimes c e n t e r e d on p r o j e c t s of
u rban renewal . And f i n a l l y , r e s e a r c h on t h e p r e s e r v a t i o n of
h i s t o r i c a l , i n d u s t r i a l monuments i s b e i n g under taken i n t h e United
S t a t e s by I t a l i a n s c h o l a r s th rouqh F u l b r i g h t proar?ms.
These, i n b r i e f , were t h e g e n e r a l " h i s t o r i c a l " c o n d i t i o n s which
brought about t h e c r e a t i o n of I n d u s t r i a l Archeology a s a more
up- to-da te method of r e s e a r c h , a s an i n s t r u m e n t o f knowledge, and a s a
f i e l d f o r a c t i v i t y i n t h e rea lm of " c u l t u r a l r e s o u r c e s " and t h e use of
t h e h i s t o r i c a l patrimony o f t h e c i t v .
The n a t u r a l consequence , f i r s t , was t h e foundat ion i n Milan of
F i g u r e 2. C o t t o n mill at V a p r i o d l A d d a , n e a r B e r g a m o , s e c o n d h a l f of t h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y .
t h e Center f o r Documentation and Research : I n d u s t r i a l Archeology, and
t h e n t h e I . S . J . A . w i t h r e g i o n a l o f f i c e s i n Milan, Rome. T u r i n , and
Padua. The S o c i e t y and c e n t e r s a r e formed by s c h o l a r s who come from
ext remely d i v e r s e f i e l d s of s t u d y , from t h e h i s t o r y o f a r t t o f o l k
a r t , from t h e h i s t o r y o f a r c h i t e c t u r e t o r e s t o r a t i o n , e t c . These
s c h o l g r s meet i n o r d e r t o s h a r e a common work e x p e r i e n c e . The v a r i e d
backeround o f t h e components o f t h e work group g i v e s i n d u s t r i a l
a rcheology r e s e a r c h an i n t e r d i s c i p l i n a r y c h a r a c t e r . T h i s does n o t
mean t o s a y " g e n e r a l i t y , " b u t r a t h e r "a p a r t n e r s h i p of s p e c i a l i s t s . "
And t h i s is a n o t h e r impor tan t c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o f t h a t which we c a n
d e f i n e a s t h e I t a l i a n approach t o I n d u s t r i a l Archeology.
The S o c i e t y is a l i t t l e more t h a n a y e a r o l d ; i n f a c t , i t was
founded i n J u l y 1976. I n t h i s f i r s t p e r i o d , i ts a c t i v i t y h a s c e n t e r e d
above a l l on i n s t r u c t i o n t o produce r e s e a r c h e r s and on t h e s t u d y o f
t h e r a p p o r t s wi th t h e s t a t e and r e g i o n a l a g e n c i e s f o r " c u l t u r a l
r e s o u r c e s , " a l r e a d y mentioned. The r e s e a r c h which h a s been done, bo th
i n u n i v e r s i t i e s and by autonomous groups stemming from t h e S o c i e t y ,
had t h e s e o b j e c t i v e s : t h e i d e n t i f i c a t i o n o f t h e c o n f i n e s and o f t h e
h i s t o r i c a l p r e c i n c t s of t h e d i s c i p l i n e and t h e d i s c o v e r y o f t h e
c o r r e c t method of r e s e a r c h .
From i t s b e g i n n i n g , t h e I . S . I . A . was o t h e r w i s e engaged i n a
p o l i c y o f d e n u n c i a t i o n o f t h e s t a t e o f abandonment and o f t h e r u i n of
t h e a r c h e o l o g i c a l i n d u s t r i a l patrimony and t h e c o n t i n u a l p r o c e s s of
d e s t r u c t i o n and d e g r a d a t i o n t o which it is s u b m i t t e d . S e v e r a l members
o f t h e S o c i e t y have p e r s o n a l l y p a r t i c i p a t e d i n t h e s t r u g g l e f o r t h e
c o n s e r v a t i o n of monuments which were t h r e a t e n e d wi th d e s t r u c t i o n .
A t t h e end of t h e f i r s t y e a r , a conference was organized i n
Milan; t h e aim was t o t a k e a c e n s u s o f t h e i n t e r e s t s o f I t a l i a n
s c h o l a r s and t o compare o u r r e s e a r c h w i t h t h a t , much more advanced, o f
f o r e i g n s c h o l a r s .
The f u t u r e programs o f I A i n I t a l y i n t h e ambi t o f t h e a c t i v i t y
o f t h e I . S . I . A . can be summarized 3 s f o l l o w s :
1. To produce a c a t a l o g u e o f t h e i n d u s t r i a l a r c h e o l o g i c a l
patrimony i n I t a l y . On t h e one hand, t h i s is t h e base f o r a c o r r e c t
p r e s e r v a t i o n p o l i c y and , on t h e o t h e r hand , f o r a s c i e n t i f i c knowledge
F i g u r e 3. A b a n d o n e d c e m e n t w o r k s , l a t e r a w a r e h o u s e ; n o w a r e s i d e n c e , at A l z a n o , n e a r B e r g a m o .
of t h e phenomena connected w i t h i n d u s t r i a l i s m . I n f a c t , a profound w i t h h igh s c h o o l s and c u l t u r a l a s s o c i - a t i o n s .
s t u d y o f a l l t h e c a t e g o r i e s of objects-documents-monuments and a c l e a r 3. To go beyond t h e p a s s i v e phase o f p r e s e r v a t i o n t o a p o l i c y
i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f t h e s i g n s which t h e y form mean t h e g l o b a l o f c o n s e r v a t i o n of t h e h i s t o r i c a l i n d u s t r i a l patrimony. The
r e c o n s t r u c t i o n of a h i s t o r i c a l p e r i o d . We, t h e r e f o r e , t h i n k t h a t i t c o n ~ e r v a t i o n o f i n d u s t r i a l monuments must be planned i n o r d e r t o
w i l l be p o s s i b l e t o fo l low s c i e n t i f i c a l l y t h e i t i n e r a r y o f o u r own p r e s e r v e t h e i r p r o d u c t i v e f u n c t i o n o r t o a l l o w f o r a t r a n s f o r m a t i o n of
r e c e n t h i s t o r y from new points-of-view. use . T h e r e f o r e , t h e d e s t i n y o f t h e s e monuments can be dec ided through
p l a n s produced w i t h t h e p a r t i c i p a t i o n o f t h e c i t i z e n s . 2. To i n t r o d u c e t h e i n s t r u c t i o n o f IA i n s c h o o l s , c u l t u r a l
c e n t e r s and a s s o c i a t i o n s , and i n t h e u n i v e r s i t i e s . A few y e a r s ago One can e a s i l y s e e t h a t t h e f u t u r e p r o t a g o n i s t s o f I A i n I t a l y
c o n t i n u i n g e d u c a t i o n c o u r s e s were o r g a n i z e d which c e n t e r e d on t h e w i l l be t h o s e who have c r e a t e d i t : t h e s c h o l a r s i n s e a r c h o f more
unders tanding o f t h e impact of c e r t a i n e lements of t h e i n d u s t r i a l s c i e n t i f i c b a s e s f o r t h e i r work, t h e i n s t i t u t i o n s which o p e r a t e i n t h e
patrimony o r , b e t t e r y e t , of t h e t o t a l i t y of t h e i n d u s t r i a l f i e l d of C u l t u r a l Resources , and t h e l a r q e p a r t s o f t h e p o p u l a t i o n
environment, on t h e s o c i a l c o n s c i e n c e and on t r a d i t i o n s . The I .S . I .A. which more and more i d e n t i f y t h e i r own h i s t o r y and t h e i r own s o c i a l
h a s o r g a n i z e d f o r 1978 s e v e r a l e d u c a t i o n a l programs i n c o l l a b o r a t i o n and p o l i t i c a l c o n d i t i o n w i t h t h e "mons te rs of m e c h a n i z a t i o n . "
8 I N D U S T R I A L A R C H E O L O G Y I N I T A L Y : E X A M P L E S O F
I N D U S T R I A L A R C H E O L O G Y I N T H E U R B A N A R E A O F M I L A N
O r n e l l a S e l v a f o l t a
U n i v e r s i t a d i A r c h i t e t t u r a d e l P o l i t e c n i c o de Milano
Mi lan , I t a l y
I n d u s t r i a l a rcheology is beginning i n I t a l y a t a moment n o t t h e r i g h t t o be p r e s e r v e d and t o be c o n s i d e r e d a s monuments.
o n l v o f economic c r i s i s . bu t a l s o of s e l f i d e n t i f i c a t i o n and It is t r u e t h a t 1 i t . e r a t u r e h a s o f t e n d e a l t w i t h t h e phenomenon
e x p e r i m e n t a t i o n . I am r e f e r r i n g , e s p e c i a l l y , t o t h e t r a d i t i o n a l gap of t h e i n d u s t r i a l r e v o l u t i o n , b u t i t is a l s o t r u e t h a t t h e r e i s s t i l l
between l i b e r a l and t e c h n i c a l a r t s which h a s a lways , somehow, a g r e a t d e a l t o be s a i d about t h e p h y s i c a l environment which h a s meant
dominated t h e p o l i t i c a l and c u l t u r a l programs o f h i s t o r i c a l f o r m i l l i o n s o f i n d i v i d u a l s a s e t way o f b e h a v i o u r , o f o r g a n i z a t i o n ,
p r e s e r v a t i o n i n o u r c o u n t r y . There is much t o be s a i d about t h i s a s and o f r e l a t i o n s h i p s - - i n a few words, t h e i r own l i f e .
an i s s u e , e s p e c i a l l y i n a c o u n t r y which i s s o r i c h i n h i s t o r i c a l
a r t i f a c t s t h a t sometimes t h e y become a very heavy i n h e r i t a n c e t o
p r o t e c t and s a f e g u a r d . As a m a t t e r o f f a c t , t h e r e i s n ' t i n I t a l y
s u f f i c i e n t economic power and p o l i t i c a l w i l l i n g n e s s t o be a b l e t o draw
a program o f p r e s e r v a t i o n f o r a l l o u r monuments. I n t h i s c o n t e x t , o f
c o u r s e , i n d u s t r i a l a r t i f a c t s a r e n o t l i k e l y t o f i n d f a v o r a b l e
r e a c t i o n s among t h e people i n charge o f n a t i o n a l l e g i s l a t i o n .
The a t t e n t i o n toward monuments h a s a lways e f f e c t e d a r t i f a c t s
l i n k e d wi th c u l t u r a l and h i s t o r i c a l " p e c u l i a r i t i e s , " which h a s
determined some n e g l e c t f o r a r t i f a c t s t e s t i f y i n g of a s o r t of "minor"
I c i v i l i z a t i o n . The I t a l i a n d e l a y i n t h e p r o c e s s o f i n d u s t r i a l i z a t i o n
had caused an even g r e a t e r l a c k o f p u b l i c r e c o g n i t i o n f o r i n d u s t r i a l
monuments; t h e y a r e n o t very " a n t i a u e , " b u t r a t h e r , appear a s
o b s o l e t e ; " t h e y d o n ' t be long t o t h e g l o r i o u s p e r i o d s o f I t a l i a n
i s t o r y , t h e y t e s t i f y o f poor c o n d i t i o n s o f l i f e , o f t e n connec ted wi th
i s e r y , p o l l u t i o n , and human e x p l o i t a t i o n . The u n a t t r a c t i v e
ur roundings i n which t h e y s t a n d , e s p e c i a l l y i n b i g c i t i e s , a r e o f t e n
een a s something t o be ashamed o f , t o h i d e away, o r t o c a n c e l
e f i n i t e l y from t h e urban s c e n e . The c o n t i n u o u s p r o c e s s o f s e l f
e s t r u c t i o n o f abandoned i n d u s t r i a l b u i l d i n g s , t h e d i s a p p e a r i n g of
h e i r a r c h i v e s and w r i t t e n documents, t h e c e a s i n g t o be of t h e l a s t
c t o r s o f t h e i n d u s t r i a l r e v o l u t i o n mean a n i r r e v e r s i b l e l o s s of human
i g n i t y and of s e l f awareness . Apart from t h e pure p l e a s u r e of
o l l e c t i n g o l d fash ioned t h i n g s , a p a r t from t h e f e e l i n g o f n o s t a l g i a
o r o l d t i m e s , we b e l i e v e t h a t i n d u s t r i a l a r t i f a c t s , a s w e l l a s
hunches, towers , and p a l a c e s o f which o u r c o u n t r y is s o r i c h , have
I n t h i s r e s p e c t , t h e aim o f t h e I t a l i a n A s s o c i a t i o n f o r
I n d u s t r i a l Archeology is main ly a p o l i t i c a l one which s t a n d s f o r a
very p r e c i s e p o i n t o f view and h a s , s o f a r , c r e a t e d a g r e a t d e a l o f
i n t e r e s t i n two o f t h e main u n i v e r s i t i e s o f Milano.
I n 1976, a t t h e F a c u l t y o f A r c h i t e c t u r e , s c h o l a r s have begun
r e s e a r c h i n t o t h e i n d u s t r i a l a r c h e o l o g i c a l remains o f t h e 19 th and
20th c e n t u r i e s i n t h e urban a r e a o f Milano. T h i s k ind o f r e s e a r c h
assumes a v e r y impor tan t meaning i f one p o i n t s o u t t h a t c i t i e s have
a lways been t h e p l a c e where s t r u c t u r a l changes have o c u r r e d .
T h e r e f o r e , h e r e more t h a n anywhere e l s e , we c a n f i n d t h e dynamics o f
c a p i t a l i s m and i n d u s t r i a l s o c i e t y . The modern c i t y , born wi th t h e
i n d u s t r i a l r e v o l u t i o n and grown a c c o r d i n g t o i t s n e e d s , r e p r e s e n t s ,
i n d e e d , a s y n t h e t i c s e c t i o n o f t h e p r e s e n t s o c i a l s t r a t a , o f t h e i r
methods o f s e l e c t i n g and o f t h e i r way o f s u r v i v i n g .
I n t h e f i r s t phase o f o u r r e s e a r c h we have s t u d i e d t h e growth
of Milan a s a n i n d u s t r i a l c e n t e r ; t h e r e a r e , o f c o u r s e , c e r t a i n
f a c t o r s t h a t need t o he s t r e s s e d more t h a n o t h e r s , such a s t h e r o l e o f
t h e c i t y a s a p r o d u c t i v e and consumer c e n t e r f o r t h e l a r g e and r i c h
c o u n t r y s i d e which s u r r o u n d s i t , i t s g e o g r a p h i c a l p o s i t i o n which makes
i t a f o r c e d p o i n t o f i n t e r s e c t i o n f o r a l l t h e main r o u t e s o f c e n t r a l
Europe, i t s l o n g e s t a b l i s h e d t r a d i t i o n o f r e a s o n a b l e economic
l e g i s l a t i o n , and t h e c o n c e n t r a t i o n o f huge amounts o f c a p i t a l i n t h e
v a r i o u s banks o p e r a t i n g s i n c e t h e 17 th c e n t u r y . Because t h i s r e s e a r c h
was in tended f o r a s c h o o l o f a r c h i t e c t u r e i t seems ex t remely
a p p r o p r i a t e t o s t u d y f i r s t t h e complex way i n which t h e i n d u s t r i a l
r e v o l u t i o n h a s changed urban envi ronments . Thus a s e c t o r i a l h i s t o r y
such a s " i n d u s t r i a l h i s t o r y " h a s become p a r t o f t h e m a t e r i a l - c u l t u r a l
development of t h e whole c i t y . T h i s can be regarded a s t h e f i r s t s t e p
toward i n d u s t r i a l a rcheology i n i t s e l f and has provided s t u d e n t s w i t h
b e t t e r means o f comprehension f o r f u t u r e r e s e a r c h .
Next was a n a l y s i s o f t h e i n d u s t r i a l e n t i t y o f Milano a t t h e
t u r n of t h e 19 th c e n t u r y , assuming a s a main g o a l t h e r e c o r d i n g o f a l l
p r o d u c t i v e a c t i v i t i e s i n t h e urban a r e a . Because o f t h i s a r c h i v e i t
now w i l l be p o s s i b l e t o draw a map showing t h e i n d u s t r i a l
a r c h e o l o g i c a l remains o f t h e c i t y i n comparison t o its o r i g i n a l
pa t r imony. I n t h e meantime, t h e a r t i f a c t s a l r e a d y known t o s u r v i v e
a r e be ing recorded . Af te rwards we p lan t o c o n c e n t r a t e on t h e a r e a
wi th t h e most s i g n i f i c a n t o b j e c t s and t o work on them i n o r d e r t o
r e i n s e r t h i s t o r i c a l monuments i n t o t h e s o c i a l dynamics o f modern
needs .
I n one r a i l w a y d i s t r i c t i n t h e s o u t h o f Milano, f o r example,
t h e r e a r e s t i l l q u i t e a few i n d u s t r i a l a r c h e o l o g i c a l a r t i f a c t s . One
o f them is an abandoned p o t t e r y m i l l which h a s been t a k e n o v e r by a
group o f young people f o r new t h e a t r i c a l e x p e r i e n c e s . Though t h i s
e f f o r t c o u l d be c o n s i d e r e d rough and n a i v e , i t meets a spontaneous
need f o r a c e n t e r of c u l t u r a l and s o c i a l a c t i v i t i e s i n a d i s t r i c t
where t h e r e is none. As a m a t t e r o f f a c t , i n d u s t r i a l b u i l d i n g s have
proved themselves u s e f u l f o r a l o t o f purposes . I n Tor ino , f o r
example, where l o c a l a u t h o r i t i e s seem t o be more s e n s t i t i v e t o
i n d u s t r i a l a r c h e o l o g y , a g roup o f a r c h i t e c t s is s t u d y i n g t h e b e s t way
t o a d a p t abandoned f a c t o r i e s t o J u n i o r High S c h o o l s , f o r which u s e
such b u i l d i n g s seem v e r y a p p r o p r i a t e .
A f t e r one y e a r o f i n v e s t i g a t i o n i t is p o s s i b l e t o s a y t h a t t h e
i n d u s t r i a l a r c h e o l o g i c a l remains o f Milano a r e n o t due t o a s p e c i f i c
p o l i t i c a l w i l l i n g n e s s t o p r e s e r v e them a s monuments. I f t h e y s u r v i v e
t h i s o c c u r s because of c a s u a l e v e n t s , a s i n t h e c a s e o f o l d i r o n
machinery which s t i l l bear a n economic v a l u e and c a n s t i l l be bought
i n junkyards a t f a i r l y good p r i c e s p e r k i l o . Sometimes t h e remains o f
t h e i n d u s t r i a l r e v o l u t i o n have s u r v i v e d because t h e y have become
f a m i l i a r s h a p e s i n t h e a e s t h e t i c s o f modern a r t , o r because t h e y a r e
c o n s i d e r e d a p o l i t i c a l symbol. T h i s is t h e c a s e o f t h e monument t o
Roberto F r a n c e s c h i who d i e d i n t h e s t u d e n t s r i o t s o f 1972; t h i s huge
hammer o f t h e 19 th c e n t u r y i s i n f a c t d e d i c a t e d t o a l l t h e people who
have s u f f e r e d and d i e d t o r e s t o r e t h e w o r k e r s ' human d i g n i t y .
9 M U S E U M I N T E R P R E T A T I O N O F I A M A T E R I A L S : A C O N S I D E R A T I O N
O F T H E R E V I E W P R O C E S S F O R G R A N T A P P L I C A T I O N S
Margaret S h a e f f e r
J e f f e r s o n Count.y H i s t o r i c a l S o c i e t y
Watertown, NY
The J e f f e r s o n County H i s t o r i c a l S o c i e t y i n Watertown, N Y , is
t h e r e p o s i t o r y f o r t h e n a t i o n ' s d e f i n i t i v e c o l l e c t i o n o f h y d r a u l i c
t u r b i n e s . But i t is a t h e r e p o s i t o r y f o r t h e n a t i o n ' s a u t h o r i t y on
h y d r a u l i c t u r b i n e s . T h e r e f o r e , much l e a r n i n g h a s been n e c e s s a r y and
h a s , indeed , t a k e n p l a c e wi th t h e a i d o f some of t h e most
knowledgeable people i n t h e f i e l d a s made p o s s i b l e by m NEH planning
g r a n t .
The S o c i e t y now wishes t o e x h i b i t t h i s o u t s t a n d i n g i n d u s t r i a l
c o l l e c t i o n , b u t h a s been u n s u c c e s s f u l , t h u s f a r , i n meet ing t h e
humani t ies c o n t e n t r e a u i r e d i n i ts p r o p o s a l t o NEH--the c r i t e r i a a r e
L> o u t l i n e d below.
N a t i o n a l Endowment f o r t h e Humanit ies Museum Program
C r i t e r i a f o r Review of A p p l i c a t i o n s - ~ ~ p i i c a n t s a r e asked t o a d d r e s s themselves t o t h e follow in^
q u e s t i o n s i n p r e p a r i n g and rev iewing p r o p o s a l s :
5 . Does t h e o v e r a l l conce t o f t h e e x h i b i t i o n have p o t e n t i a l a p p e a l t o a d i v e r s e p u b l i c ? will new a u d i e n c e s be developed because o f t h e e x h i b i t i o n ?
6 . Does t h e p r o p o s a l r e l a t e t o t h e h u m a n i t i e s ?
7 . I f t h e e x h i b i t i o n is t o t r a v e l e i t h e r i n whole o r i n p a r t w i l l i t a p e a l t o o t h e r k i n d s o f a u d i e n c e s n o t des igned t o r e a c h i n t h e opening ( f i r s t i n s t a l l a t i o n ) o f t h e e x h i b i t i o n ?
8. Is t h e c o s t r e a l i s t i c ? Does t h e c o s t - s h a r i n g seem adequate? Is t h e c o s t of t h e I n t e r p r e t i v e component j u s t i f i a b l e ?
S p e c i f i c t o Community Educa t ion A p p l i c a t i o n s :
Is t h e a u d i e n c e t o be reached involved a s an i n t e g r a l p a r t of t h e p lanning and e x e c u t i o n o f t h e proposed program?
While two p r o p o s a l s have been submi t ted f o r a n e x h i b i t i o n u s i n g
t h e Kinne Hydraul ic Turb ine C o l l e c t i o n - - t h e second b e i n g made
f o l l o w i n g a $2,500 p l a n n i n g grant--no e x h i b i t i o n g r a n t h a s r e s u l t e d .
To d a t e , two comole te ly d i f f e r e n t approaches have been used and a
t h i r d h a s been s u g g e s t e d th rough p a n e l i s t s ' e v a l u a t i o n s , namely: t h a t
1. Does t h i s p r o g r a m - - i n s t a l l a t i o n o r i e n t a t i o n a f u t u r e p r o p o s a l f o c u s l a r g e l y upon t h e e a r l y development of t h e presen ta t ion- -emplo methods o f i n t e r p r e t a t i o n t h a t b r i n g t h e a d u l t g e n e r a l p u b l i c i n z o d i r e c t c o n t a c t wi th c o l l e c t ~ o n s o r 1s t h e American h y d r a u l i c t u r b i n e a s i t a f f e c t e d t h e l i v e s o f i n t h e p r e s e n t a t i o n a n a t t e m p t a t s u b s t i t u t i n g technology f o r o b j e c t s ?
North Countrv. 2. Does t h i s p r o p o s a l b r i n g t o g e t h e r museum s t a f f s p e c i a l i s t s
t o l a n and e x e c u t e t h e i n t e r p r e t i v e program and/or e x h i b i t i o n , i . e . , c u r a t o r . e d u c a t o r . d e s i m e r ? I n te rms of s c h o l a r s h i n . is t h e e x h i b i t i o n c o n t e n t sound s o t h a t t h e i n t e r o r e t a t i o n can be f u l l v and
I n s i s t e n c e upon t o o s p e c i f i c l i m i t a t i o n s w i l l , however, hamper
competen t ly developed? t h e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n and p r e s e n t a t i o n o f t h e h i s t o r i c a l and
3. I s t echnology employed t o provide a c u l t u r a l and h i s t o r i c a l t e c h n o l o g i c a l a s p e c t s , which a r e a s germane t o a n u n d e r s t a n d i n g of t h e c o n t e x t ? I f s o does t h i s t echnology appear a s a n a i d t o unders tanding o r a s ' a gimmick f o r r a n t j u s t i f i c a t i o n ? Does t h e v a l u e o f waterpower d u r i n g t h e deve lopmenta l p e r i o d f o r American a p p l i c a t i o n s t a t e t h a t p r o v i s i o n s w i l l be made f o r p r o e r maintenance o f a u d i o - v i s u a l and o t h e r t e c h n i c a l equipment i n connec t ion wi th t h e h y d r a u l i c t u r b i n e s i n t h e mid-19th c e n t u r y , a s i s t h e i n t e r e s t i n g b u t e x h i b i t i o n ?
somewhat e l u s i v e e x p o s i t i o n o f t h e impact o f h y d r a u l i c t u r b i n e 4. Do l a b e l s maps p r i n t e d m a t e r i a l s photogra h i e
i l l u s t r a t i o n s a s w e l l a s p r o rams a s s o c i a t e d wi th t h e e x h i b i t which development upon t h e l i f e and l i f e s t y l e s o f t h a t p e r i o d . What a r e in tended a s e d u c a t i o n a l a i d s s e e k p r i m a r i l y t o t r a n s l a t e and jux tapose o b j e c t s t o a contemporary s o c i e t y where p o s s i b l e ? gu idance c a n i n d u s t r i a l a rcheology p r o v i d e ? Where do we go from h e r e ?
1 0 A N A R C H E O L O G I C A L A N D S O C I A L E V A L U A T I O N
O F W H A T M A Y B E A M E R I C A ' S F I R S T I N D U S T R I A L S U B U R B
Thomas and Jeanne Sca tchard
P h i l a d e l p h i a , PA
Northern L i b e r t i e s was e s t a b l i s h e d t o t h e n o r t h o f t h e o l d c i t y
o f P h i l a d e l p h i a , which was o r i g i n a l l y l a i d o u t wi th Vine S t r e e t on t h e
n o r t h t o South S t r e e t on t h e s o u t h and between t h e Delaware and
S c h u y k i l l r i v e r s . The p a r t i c u l a r s e c t o r i n v e s t i g a t e d h e r e is t h e
s e c t i o n n o r t h o f S p r i n g Garden S t r e e t and from Ninth S t r e e t e a s t t o
t h e Delaware R i v e r .
Because t h e f i r s t i n t e n t i o n o f Penn a p p e a r s t o have been t h e
s a l e o f b u i l d i n g l o t s , p l o t s i n t h e o l d c i t y were l a i d o u t wi th narrow
f r o n t s f a c i n g t h e s t r e e t and compara t ive ly deep--a t y p i c a l p l o t b e i n g
15-25 f o o t f r o n t and 75 t o 125 deep.
A f t e r t h e l a y o u t o f t h e c i t y and t h e s u b d i v i s i o n o f t h e
r e l a t i v e l y s m a l l bu i ld ing ; l o t s , i t a p p e a r s t h a t t h e land n o r t h of Vine
S t r e e t was r e f e r r e d t o by Perm a t t h e t ime o f h i s a r r i v a l i n 1682 a s
' N o r t h e r n L i b e r t i e s . " T h i s land was a l l o t t e d t o t h o s e who purchased
b u i l d i n g l o t s i n t h e c i t y i n t r a c t s o f an a v e r a g e s i z e o f
d i v e r s i f i e d i n d u s t r i a l l o c a t i o n s , more i m p o r t a n t , c o n t a i n s w i t h i n i ts
l i m i t s a v i a b l e p o p u l a t i o n c o n s t a n t l y m a i n t a i n i n g and improving
hous ing by t h e i r own e f f o r t s .
Nor thern L i b e r t i e s was o r i g i n a l l y a s e p a r a t e e n t i t y from t h e
C i t y o f P h i l a d e l p h i a , o n l y becoming p a r t o f t h e C i t y i n 1854. I t had
i ts own govern ing body, known a s The Commissioners, and i t s own p o l i c e
and f i r e companies. The f a c t t h a t i n d u s t r y and housing; from t h e
b e g i n n i n g , were s p a t i a l l y i n t e g r a t e d had a d e f i n i t e b e a r i n g on t h e
l i f e o f t h e people . Neighbors were n e i g h b o r s bo th a t home and a t
work. The e a r l i e s t a r r i v a l s t o s e t t l e i n Nor thern L i b e r t i e s were t h e
German L u t h e r a n s and a German S o c i e t y was formed i n 1764. L a t e r ,
German C a t h o l i c s a r r i v e d and a t t h e t i m e o f t h e I r i s h famine many
I r i s h C a t h o l i c s a l s o s e t t l e d t h e r e . The homes, many o f which s t i l l
e x i s t , were row houses and l i m i t e d i n s t y l e by t h e b u i l d i n g m a t e r i a l s
a t hand, a s were t h e b u s i n e s s b u i l d i n g s .
approximate ly 80 a c r e s , and t h e b o u n d a r i e s o f each p e r s o n ' s t r a c t , The people i n t h i s s e c t i o n o f t h e c i t y , many o f whom r e p r e s e n t
r a t h e r vaguely d e f i n e d . Perm had i n s i s t e d t h a t t h e s t r e e t l i n e s i n t h e f o u r t h o r f i f t h g e n e r a t i o n t o l i v e i n t h e same home, s u r v i v e i n a
t h e o l d c i t y be a t r i g h t a n g l e s and "not askew." Nor thern L i b e r t i e s ' t i g h t l i t t l e i s l a n d sur rounded by t h e r e s t o f t h e c i t y . They w i l l go
r e s i d e n t s d e l i b e r a t e l y c r e a t e d s t r e e t p a t t e r n s a t a l l a n g l e s . The a lmos t t o any l e n g t h s t o p r e s e r v e t h e i r c u l t u r a l and e t h n i c i n t e g r i t y .
d i f f e r e n t p l o t s i z e and shape gave wider freedom t o i n d u s t r y . The The people f o r t h e most p a r t a r e working c l a s s ; mechanics o f a g r a d e
p a t t e r n fo l lowed t h e l a t e 18 th c e n t u r y s t y l e o f hav ing a home and work s u p e r i o r t o l a b o r e r s . Boyd's D i r e c t o r y shows a l a r g e r p r o p o r t i o n o f
shop e i t h e r i n t h e same b u i l d i n g o r very c l o s e t o g e t h e r . c a r p e n t e r s , m i l l w r i g h t s , and plumbers t h a n t h i s one s e c t i o n o f t h e
The e a r l y development o f t h e a r e s began wi th t h e growth o f c i t y would r e q u i r e . These people c o n t i n u e d t o l i v e h e r e b u t work
s h i p y a r d s a l o n g t h e Delaware River . The banks a t t h i s p o i n t were f i r m e l sewhere th roughout t h e c i t y .
and t h e approximate ly f i v e t o seven f o o t t i d e made f o r e a s y shipway
c o n s t r u c t i o n . The land behind t h e banks was s o l i d ground a l lowing
c o n s t r u c t i o n o f t h e n e c e s s a r y s u p p o r t i n g s e r v i c e s - - f o u n d r i e s , rope and
cordage works, s a i l m a k i n g and wood working shops . I n a d d i t i o n t o
t h o s e i n d u s t r i e s t i e d t o s h i p b u i l d i n g , t h e r e were a wide v a r i e t y o f
p l a n t s and workshops, some going back t o pre-Revolu t ionary t i m e s .
Nat iona l Lead made r e d and whi te l e a d i n 1772 ( t h i s i s t h e i r p r e s e n t
name). P h i l a d e l p h i a Q u a r t z s t i l l h a s a p l a n t on t h e o r i g i n a l s i t e .
Although t h e Delaware Expressway and "redevelopment" have
I t i s i n t e r e s t i n g t o n o t e t h a t t h i s a r e a , which i s such a
mix ture o f i n d u s t r y , homes, and b u s i n e s s e s h a s remained i n s p i t e of
a l l t h e upheava ls of t h e second h a l f o f t h e 2 0 t h c e n t u r y , more s t a b l e
and more homogenous t h a n many more " p r o p e r l y zoned" a r e a s o f t h e c i t y .
One is i n c l i n e d t o a g r e e i n some ways w i t h t h e l a d y s i t t i n g i n f r o n t
of h e r s t o r e who r e c e n t l y proc la imed t o t h e a u t h o r s t h a t t h i s was t h e
b e s t p a r t o f t h e c i t y , and s h e meant t o keep it t h a t way. A t l e a s t ,
i f it i s n ' t t h e " b e s t p a r t o f t h e c i t y " n e c e s s a r i l y , i t ' s a good,
s t u r d y , hardworking independent one . The q u e s t i o n now is what can
d e s t r o y e d much, t h e r e s t i l l e x i s t s a n i n d u s t r i a l s e c t i o n n o r t h o f laymen wi th some knowledge o f t h e methods o f i n d u s t r i a l a rcheology d o
S p r i n g Garden S t r e e t and e a s t of S i x t h S t r e e t which n o t o n l y h a s many t o lend s u p p o r t t o t h e s u r v i v a l o f such a n i n d u s t r i a l community.